By Tendai Chisiri
Former Norton MP and Village Head Temba Mliswa has blasted government for failing to deliver on a 2024 pledge to sink 35,000 village boreholes, accusing the responsible Minister of making “high sounding” promises with no delivery.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, this week, Mliswa said the Minister is “swiftly cultivating a reputation for ambitious initiatives that lack grounding in feasibility.”
Mliswa referenced remarks made by the Minister during the 2021 Waternet Symposium for Integrated Water Resource Management in Eastern and Southern Africa.
At the symposium, the Minister announced that by 2024, every village and school would have a borehole. The target was 35,000 boreholes for villages and an additional 9,600 for schools.
“We are now in 2026. Where are the boreholes? Regrettably, this promise has not come to fruition, exposing it as mere posturing,” Mliswa wrote.
Instead of accounting for the missed borehole target, Mliswa said the Minister has now announced a new plan to provide 35,000 tractors for villages.
“Having previously faltered with the water initiative, he now seeks to impress with agricultural machinery! This is nothing short of fanciful thinking,” he posted.
Using biblical language, Mliswa added: “If this was a Christian context, one might liken him to a false prophet, a purveyor of grandiloquent fabrications. A Papa of high sounding and false prophecies. Why concoct new fabrications when the previous ones remain unaddressed?”
Speaking from his current role as a Village Head, Mliswa said rural communities are facing real challenges that need urgent attention.
“One must question who will maintain these tractors and what accountability exists for the failed borehole project?” he asked.
He called on government to focus on key agricultural issues instead:
- Tobacco quotas to safeguard smallholder farmers “overwhelmed by the tobacco market dynamics”
- Support and protection for farmers instead of “indulging in the creation of tall tales to captivate the nation’s leadership”
- Domestic tobacco processing plants to enhance value “rather than relying solely on raw sales to China”
Mliswa said the same systemic problems are affecting the blueberry sector.
“As Village Heads, we are acutely aware of these realities and as a result advocate for pragmatic solutions. We are not impressed by high sounding stories,” he concluded.
The Ministry had not responded to the comments by the time of publication.
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