WAR veterans in Bulawayo have partnered a humanitarian organisation to drill a state-of-the-art solar powered borehole in Entumbane suburb as part of a programme that will see eight boreholes being drilled in Bulawayo.
The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) Bulawayo province partnered Islamic Information Bureau (IIB) which works in conjunction with a Turkish organisation Turkiye Diyanet Foundation to drill the borehole.
IIB said it had been reading in the press about water challenges faced by Bulawayo residents and decided to assist.
The Bulawayo City Council has come up with a 108-hour weekly water shedding due to the water problems.IIB chief executive officer Mr Adam Yidi Wadi said the borehole project with ZNLWVA Bulawayo province is first their project in Matabeleland region.
“We have largely been operating from the northern parts of the country but we want to cascade our operations to Matabeleland region. We plan to drill about eight boreholes in Bulawayo in response to the city’s water crisis. We also want to extend our operations to Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South where they are also facing water challenges,” said Mr Wadi.
He said they had drilled 29 solar powered boreholes and 263 handpumps boreholes in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central provinces where their operations have been largely concentrated.
Mr Wadi said his organisation also donated food hampers to 100 vulnerable war veterans who have terminal illnesses and a few selected residents in Entumbane suburb.
ZNLWVA Bulawayo province chairman CDE Cephas Ncube hailed the partnership between the freedom fighters and IIB.Cde Ncube said the partnership will impact positively on the community.
“We now have a state-of-the-art borehole at our Entumbane offices, thanks to IIB. The borehole will benefit the freedom fighters who have agricultural projects that they want to embark on. The borehole will also see residents in Entumbane accessing during water shedding period. We want to cooperate with the public in everything we do as we did during the war,” said Cde Ncube.
He said as war veterans they are looking forward to a fruitful partnership with the IIB which is funded by the Turkish Government to initiate developmental projects in the city.
