Zimbabweans have plenty to sing about with China's water aid

As water gushed from a newly drilled borehole in a remote part of southern Zimbabwe, the joy from the villagers who had gathered around was equally effusive; they sang and danced in appreciation of an act of generosity from China.

The borehole, which opened on July 10, came courtesy of the China Aid Zimbabwe 500 Boreholes Project, a program undertaken by the Chinese government through its donor agency, China Aid, to bring clean water to rural Zimbabweans.

The borehole that went into service this month in the Bulilima district of the semiarid Matebeleland South Province is one of hundreds that have been provided under the project.

The nationwide project has been given added support as a result a bilateral agreement in 2018.

Wu Tao, the chief representative of China Jiangxi International Corporation, the contractor for the project, said nearly 1,000 boreholes have been drilled in six provinces.

Sixty-four boreholes have been installed in the provinces of Matebeleland North and Matebeleland South provinces under the first phase of the project, with 136 boreholes provided in the provinces of Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Manicaland in the second phase, Wu said. Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central, together, received 300 more boreholes in the third phase.

"The three phases took place from 2012 until 2017, to make a total of 500 boreholes," Wu said.

He said that under the fourth phase, which started in March 2019, a further 500 boreholes are being set down in Manicaland and Matebeleland South, as well as in Masvingo Province.

"We are almost complete with this project and are left with fewer than 20 boreholes for which we will complete drilling by September," Wu said.

Ntutuko Ndebele, a councilor in Gwanda Urban where a borehole was sunk last week, said the facility will improve access to water in the area, which has experienced a water crisis for over a decade.

"I would like to thank Zimbabwe for a noble partnership with the Chinese government," he said. "May I pass my appreciation to the Chinese government for their unwavering support. Thank you so much for giving us water through this borehole. Our community and our new school have benefited greatly."

Ndebele said the borehole has come at the right time with the battle against the pandemic, adding that his area has been plagued by water shortages for the past 15 years.

Due to droughts arising from climate change, water points are drying up in Zimbabwe, forcing many rural people to travel long distances for a basic necessity.

Lands and Water Minister Anxious Masuka said the country has 41,754 boreholes in seven provinces, but just over half of them are operational. The government plans to drill about 44,600 sites by 2025 to secure its target of three boreholes for each community ward.

The author is a freelancer for China Daily.