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Prosper Ndlovu recently in Lupane

THE long-awaited Elitsheni Government Complex project in Lupane has finally been completed and will be ready for use in the next two months, Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Minister, Richard Moyo, has said.

Civil servants’ houses have also been completed, he said, adding that this paves way for the relocation of all the Government departmental officers early next year. The majority of Matabeleland North public officers are still operating from Bulawayo and have been resisting the move to the provincial capital citing lack of adequate accommodation, office space and basic services. Minister Moyo said these have been addressed and that by February all public officers under the province would have relocated to Lupane. 

“Our Government offices have been completed here in Lupane. The feedback I am getting from the Department of Public Works is that they are only doing final touches in connecting water and electricity,” the minister said in interview. 

“Otherwise my office is ready, departmental offices and civil servants’ houses are also ready. Our view is that by February we will all relocate and start operating from the people instead of operating from another province in Bulawayo.”

This news crew visited the four-wing Government complex on the western side of the business centre on Monday and observed that basic office infrastructure was now intact. Some workers from the contractor were busy fitting link rails on the western wing while doors, sewer and water components as well as tiles had been fitted. The offices had also been painted. However, the complex has no perimeter fence or wall. 

Decentralisation of services to provincial, district or even ward level is an ongoing process under the Government’s devolution drive meant to bring services closer to the people. In the last few years civil servants in Matabeleland North province had been complaining about delays in completing Government offices and houses in Lupane, which made it impossible for them to relocate. As a result, ordinary people and entrepreneurs from the province were being forced to travel to Bulawayo to seek Government services thereby incurring higher transport costs. The construction of the complex started in 2004 but due to inadequate funding, its completion was delayed.

Lupane Town was granted Matabeleland North provincial capital status in 1999 but the development of the town has been sluggish mainly because of inadequate funding for infrastructural development. The coming in of fulltime services to Lupane is also expected to result in quicker growth of the settlement into a fully-fledged modern town. Lupane State University has already relocated some of its departments, giving impetus to the growth of the provincial capital.

Minister Moyo said the completion of Government offices was being complemented by other key capital projects across the province such as Gwayi-Shangani Dam, Lupane gas investment and Hwange Thermal Power Station expansion. 

“The Gwayi-Shangani Dam is our major project. It had stalled for two months between August and September but Treasury gave us $100 million such that as we speak work is in progress and we are not complaining. There is also good progress in the Hwange Power Station units 7 and 8 expansion project, which is being worked on,” said the minister. 

On the exploitation of vast gas deposits in Lupane, he said engagements were under way with more companies keen to tap into the opportunity.

“The problem is that some investors come here on pretense that they have money to do projects when they don’t. But Government is seriously looking into this project and we have facilitated for many companies, including Chinese investors. We will have progress on this,” he said.