IN the blazing sun, Charles Kateza, a farmer from Kateza Village in Rushinga District, is busy with his trowel on top of a small latrine he is building.
His son stands nearby, mixing more mortar with a shovel, ready to pass it to him, while his wife fetches water from a small drum nearby.
“This water is from the borehole, the only one we have. I walked a long distance to get it. Even if I wake up as early as possible, sometimes, this doesn’t guarantee I’ll get water,” says Lydia Kateza.
They are among the families facing severe water challenges in demined villages close to the Mozambican border in Northern Zimbabwe.
During the War of Liberation, which ended in December 1979, 210 km² of minefields were left along the 700-kilometre border with Zambia and Mozambique.
While the exact number of landmines is unknown, estimates range from 200,000 to 2.2 million, many of which remain hidden in Zimbabwe’s rugged, remote areas, making them difficult to survey.
In the 2023 financial year alone, Halo Trust and Belgian demining non-profit APOPO cleared 521,074 square metres (129 acres) of land, destroying 14,450 landmines in the process, with help from the United States government.
However, while demining efforts have helped villagers reclaim land, little effort has been made by the government to provide water for people in these villages.
This has forced them to share one borehole with livestock, as several water sources have dried up due to drought and low rainfall. Others trek to Ruya River, across the Mozambican border.
“We fetch water over long distances. Our wish is to get water from a nearby source. We are now old and cannot save our children to fetch water due to the distance. Our livestock is dying due to lack of water,” Lydia says.
“We also have to walk even longer distances to collect aid. So, we are calling for the government to provide water for us. We are calling for the government to provide transport that would ferry aid close to where we live. At times, we come home at around 2AM looking for food.”
Water shortages have also increased livestock deaths.
“Our cattle are dying because of a lack of water. They may go for days without water. Right now, I am building, and the water I am using comes directly from the borehole, but the number of people relying on it is growing,” Charles says.
Edmore Mapira, a farmer from the same village, says that while they have reclaimed land for agricultural purposes, they are still struggling to access water.
This has forced them to travel to Mozambique to fetch water.
“At times, the borehole malfunctions.The borehole is malfunctioning, which has been caused by the drought. We have this one only. When it malfunctions, we spend lots of time without water. At times, we go for about two days without bathing,” Mapira says.
“The other problem we are facing is water. We have just one borehole which we use for everything else, water and animals. We have resorted to fetching water from Ruya in Mozambique.”
While Mapira pays US$5 for water transportation to and from Ruya to his village, sometimes, transportation is scarce.
“At times, we do not have transportation facilities to ferry our water. Hence, we have resorted to getting the water from where we live. Even when people pass by, it is difficult for us to give them water, as it has become a precious resource. Sometimes, we will just have a few litres for ourselves only,” he says.
“So, water is our major problem. The challenge is that we have just one borehole which we use to water goats and cattle. So everything has become more difficult. Everything is quite okay since landmines have been removed. However, we are appealing if we could get a dam that could water livestock, so we can ease on the borehole. We have 49 households in the area.”
Rushinga MP Tendai Nyabani said they are working to improve access to water in the area.
“There are plans to drill some rigs in Chomutukuku, which will help people access water. This will improve water accessibility in the various villages near the border,” he said in a phone interview.
Failure to provide water contradicts the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which promote access to water and sanitation for all. According to the UN, billions of people will lack access to these basic services by 2030 unless progress quadruples.
