IT is common knowledge that Matabeleland North county is one of the poorest regions in the country, and to this end, the Welshman Mabhena provincial government complex and civil servants’ houses at Lupane Centre were welcomed as progressive as they would decentralise administration.
But, lo and behold, the complex and houses are still to be completed.
What this means is that civil servants still operate from 170 Kilometres away at Mhlahlandlela goverment complex in Bulawayo.
Only the ministries of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage’s Registrar General’s office have moved to Lupane.
This continues to negatively affect the region which is in the pangs of underdevelopment.
Firstly, civil servants can not react immediately and urgently to disasters in the province because they are in Bulawayo
Further, the failure to complete the houses and complex has hampered the growth of the province’s economy, because the relocation of the civil servants will create the need for certain services, thus the creation of employment and revenue.
More importantly, the complex and houses will make Lupane attractive and thus entice people to invest in the construction of houses.
Suffice to say, it is senseless to relocate the broadcasting authority ministry ahead of the agricultural one.
This is so because there are some parts of the region such as Hwange and Binga districts that have never received airwaves from the state broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
But Matabeleland North’s economy is driven by agriculture and it makes sense to prioritise the relocation of the agricultural ministry to the provincial capital so that farmers can easily access the ministry’s workers and services.
Recently, vice president Kembo Mohadi toured the complex and expressed concerns over lack of progress.
“These projects have been going on for a long time that is why I am here to see what is hindering completion. I also wish to understand the bottlenecks that are causing them not to be completed on time because we have been waiting for too long,” said Mohadi.
One can hope and pray that Mohadi’s sentiments are sincere because it is high time the complex is completed.
