TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The construction of the Bulawayo-Old Gwanda road will make it possible to build new schools in the region in an effort to relieve overcrowding at the few existing ones, the deputy minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Edgar Moyo has said.
It comes after Cabinet recently approved the redevelopment of the road following an unsolicited bid by Zwane Enterprises.
Moyo made the remarks at a recent meeting for stakeholders in Bulawayo.
“…With such infrastructure (Bulawayo-Old Gwanda road), we are looking forward to perhaps building big private schools.
“In this country we only have 24 000 places for boarding schools against a population of pupils around 4.8m and that creates congestion,” Moyo said.
The development comes at a time when the country has a deficit of 3 000 schools, according to official data obtained from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Moyo said private public partnerships were important in developing the country.
“This is evidence of the power of private public partnerships and if we put this philosophy in all the development matrix, I’m sure we are destined for great success. We have heard of tourism, agriculture and mining but all these sectors depend on good road networks,” he said.
Long distances to schools have been identified as one of the causes of low pass rates and dropping out of school especially in rural areas.
ZANU-PF politburo member, Richard Ndlovu said the Matabeleland region should contribute to its development.
“We need to be visionary and come up with dreams addressing some of our challenges.
“All in all, everyone coming from Matabeleland needs to contribute to its development. We will be made a laughing stock in the country if we do not champion our own development,”
Member of Parliament for Umzingwane, Levy Mayihlome said the project would bring development in the region.
“On several occasions, the government has provided funds and materials to fix the roads but after several months the roads would be dilapidated again. We will see to it that the road will be well constructed and it will greatly enhance the Matabeleland region. We need to work together to ensure that this project becomes a reality,” he said.
