Budiriro to get multi-sport facility at Chimbumu grounds

Budiriro South Constituency Member of Parliament, Darlington Chigumbu, has committed to build a multi sporting facility at Chimbumu Grounds which were now falling prey to land barons.

Chigumbu held a groundbreaking ceremony which attracted the Mayor of Harare, Jacob Mafume, and Australian Embassy stuff including Deputy Head of Mission, Isaac Matia, who have pledged to support his vision for the constituency.

Chigumbu says the youth in his community are being trapped into the destructive path of substance abuse because of idleness and a lack of recreational facilities.

It is his hope that at completion the facility will help reduce substance abuse among the youth.

“So, what we are trying to do here is to, we want to build a world-class sporting facility. It’s
going to be a multi-purpose one, it is going to cater for many sporting disciplines, mainly
soccer, basketball, tennis and other games like cricket, that are not popular this side. The
reason why we are doing this as a community is because we’ve seen a rise in the number of
youths who are abusing drug and substance, who are engaging in drug and substance abuse.
We’ve also seen that we’ve got a lot of talent that is simply dying because we don’t have
facilities, you know, to expose that talent to opportunities. So, we want to do this for our young people who stay in this community,” said Chigumbu.

This piece of land that they are going to put the sporting facility had been invaded by land barons who were dishing out residential stands because nothing has been built there for a long time.

Chigumbu then raised alarm on social media and got the attention of the mayor who acted swiftly to take the structures that had been built down

Yesterday I raised the issue of land barons who are invading School sites. In Budiriro more than 4 school sites were invaded and schools in the constituency are now over populated. It is heartbreaking that in some schools a single class can have more than 60 kids.

Any… pic.twitter.com/N1GvVuKNYd

— Hon. Darlington Chigumbu🇿🇼 (@chigumbu_) April 11, 2024

He says because this land is the only piece in his constituency set aside for recreational facilities, he is going to ensure that during his time in office the land will be put to its designated use.

“The reason why we are also doing it here specifically is because this is the only space that
we are left with as a community that is designated for a sporting and recreation facility. All
other open spaces that we’ve had have been invaded by land barons and others that are still
left say that they’re designated for schools or for youth facilities. So this is the only space that
we have as Zimbabwe South constituency that is designated specifically for sport and
recreation. That’s why we want to do it here. You can’t risk building a facility at a place that is designated for another use and to be temporary. But we know that whatever development that we are going to do here, they are going to be permanent,” he told the media.

Chigumbu says he will use CDF to start work on the project, but, because the funds are not sufficient for a project this big he has engaged Australians and Zimbabweans in Australia to help him realise this dream.

“I want to use CDF as part of the fund that is going to be used to do all the developments that are needed here, but it’s not enough. So, what I’ve done is I’ve tried to put some stakeholders to try and assist us to build this facility. Last year I travelled to Australia, and I met a lot of Zimbabwean community and other Australian citizens who promised to help us. That’s why today you saw the Australian Embassy coming down this side to also show that there’s a relationship that already exists with some Australian citizens and institutions that are promising to help us achieve this dream we have as a community,” he said.

Australian Deputy Head of Mission, Issac Matia, standing in for Ambassador Minoli Perera, said the initiative was one of the great ways to foster social cohesion and their support towards it would see Zim-Aussie relations bloom.

“No single activity fosters human connection than sport. Maybe I should say the only thing that connects people better is sport, which includes everyone. And when I say everyone, that is everyone, including women, people with disability especially.  If you are in the vocation that we are in, you would know that people and inclusive sport are your greatest assets. Australia believes inclusive sport has the power to connect the people of Australia and Zimbabwe. This connection can foster cooperation and understanding, and with cooperation and understanding, anything is possible,” said Matia.

He heaped praises on Chigumbu for initiating the development of this facility.

“My brother, the Honourable Chigumbu, I really applaud you for bringing your community together to take this first step. The first step to improve access to sports and recreational spaces, especially for young people, for women and for people with disability. The first step to endless possibilities,” he said.

Matia also donated netball kits and balls to use when the facility will be up and running.