State-of-the-art library set to be established in Hwange.

State-of-the-art library set to be established in Hwange

By Letwin Mubonesi

In a bid to improve education standards in Hwange district, the local board has partnered with South Mining (Pvt) Limited to build a state-of-the-art public library at an estimated cost of US$100 000.

The construction of the public library is part of the local authority’s strategy to create synergies with private players for the development of the district.

Hwange chairperson Nqobile Ocean Mabhena said due to the prevailing economic challenges bedevilling the country, the council was financially constrained to carry out some of the projects.

He added that the library construction project is expected to be a technologically a modern facility for everyone.

He said, “we have to resort to alternative models of funding to embark on some of the projects and one such way is venturing into partnerships with private players”.

“The library won’t be your traditional type of building filled with stacks of books and resources.

Apart from offering a wide range of books, it will consist of electronic resources such as computers and Wi-Fi, encouraging users to do more in terms of research.

Over and above that, we expect it to be a relational library where people meet and interact,” he said.

The library would also play a pivotal role in improving the pass rate in Hwange district.

“Hwange district has always had the highest pass rate in the province but there is a need to improve nationally and I believe this library can play a part in that,” he said.

“We are looking at investing about US$100 000 towards the construction of an upmarket library including purchasing of related ancillary equipment to be used there such as computers and furniture,” he said.

“Construction of the library is one of the many ways of ploughing back to the community from which we operate. This library won’t be your traditional form of a library but it will be highly technological”.

Charles Muchabaiwa of South Mining Pvt Limited said completion of construction is expected to be before the end of this year and the move was part of the Coke processing company’s social corporate responsibility.