Staff Reporter
MARONDERA- The Murehwa Rural District Council recognises and fully appreciates the conferment of Town Board status for Murewa Growth Point three years ago, with massive strides having been made in the operationalisation of the board.
A Town Board Committee has since been put in place and its induction and training, dedicated town board accounts department as well as a town board staff has been established.
According to council chairman Alderman John Gutu, the local authority is working closely with its parent Ministry as well as the office of the Minister of State for Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution.
He said the Murehwa Rural District Council was ready to take on the challenges that come with rural urbanisation and the green city philosophy development trajectory as the country marches towards an upper middle income economy by 2030.
“We are also working closely with the office of the Minister of State for Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution as we implement devolution and other high impact projects. The Rural District Council is implementing a wide array of developmental projects, using devolution funds.
“We fully appreciate the Second Republic’s development passion, marked by the eventual implementation of the Kunzvi Dam which is a high impact project. President Emmerson Mnangagwa ensured that the project, which had been on the drawing board for a long time, came to fruition.”
Alderman Gutu added that the council already has investment plans for when the Kunzvi Dam project is completed.
According to the council chairman, the local authority has a ring-fenced specific budget for driving the Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) as well as waste management programmes. This has enabled the council to provide active service delivery over the years, a case in point being the procurement of a refuse compactor for Macheke Rural Service Centre.
He also said Murehwa Rural District Council has successfully embraced all the statutory requirements in line with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) policy and waste management upon expansion of towns (new housing development) as well as waste disposal sites.
“As council, we managed to construct in Murehwa a lined landfill which the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) certified in terms of the EI A policy and continue to monitor potential grounds of water pollution by collecting quarterly borehole water samples to the EMA laboratory. In Macheke, the council is planning to construct its second landfill, having been granted EIA certification.
“The council engagement platforms and open-door policy provides for easy feedback and response on community grievances. This has resulted in the RDC addressing waste management issues promptly,” Alderman Gutu said.
