Tokwe Mukosi lies idle 7yrs after completion
…5 districts can directly benefit from irrigation
…Only Tongaatt Huletts using the water
By Beverly Bizeki
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government seems clueless about how to fulfill the former President Robert Mugabe’s vision of turning the Lowveld into a greenbelt following the completion of Tugwi-Mukosi dam a decade ago as the biggest inland dam in the country is fast becoming a white elephant, with the responsible minister reluctant to establish irrigation schemes downstream.
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Anxious Masuka, who has been at the helm of the ministry for over five years now, seems clueless as the dam has seen neither irrigation nor tourism development save for irrigating the Lowveld Sugar Estates despite ravaging impacts of climate change and the El Nino-induced drought.
Mnangagwa has since extended a US$2 billion begging bowl to the world following the El Nino-induced drought yet Tugwi-Mukosi dam can irrigate about 40 000 hectares and provide enough food for people.
Former Zanu PF Member of Parliament for Chivi South, Killer Zivhu blamed the leadership of gross incompetence and misplaced priorities on the delay in utilisation of the vast water bodies in the province.
“Chivi District in Masvingo Province is one of the most drought prone districts in the province despite the availability of water for irrigation in the district. I think we have a leadership problem because if the leaders were putting in the exact effort they are placing kumakomba (pfumvudza/intwasa) in irrigation development the country could be better in terms of food security.
“I don’t know why they cannot replicate what was done at Mushandike Irrigation Scheme in other areas especially here in Chivi District. Masvingo province has about 60 percent of the water in the country yet it is in this province where we have some of the worst drought hit areas,” said Zivhu.
Zivhu further bemoaned the situation at Tugwi Mukosi saying it had yielded no benefits for people affected by construction of the dam and people were starting to lose confidence in the government.
“People from the areas around Tugwi Mukosi were moved to Chingwizi where they are living in abject poverty and were promised numerous benefits from the dam construction but still have nothing to show for it. They left their belongings including their relatives’ graves in the water for nothing.
“People no longer believe in government because there is really nothing for them from these forced relocations in the name of paving way for development. Those at Chisase are enjoying benefits from Manyuchi dam why can’t the same be done here in Chivi.
“We have been in council where continuous planning about utilising the dam was done but nothing came to fruition as it is all about planning about tourism with nothing done, mari inoperera kumaworkshop (the money is spend on workshops) because its workshop after workshop, people could benefit from village tourism, tourists that come here would definitely want to enjoy a rural life experience because there is nothing new they can get from hotel experiences as these are available in abundance where they come from but even if they were to come there are no toilets, they will have to urinate in the water.
“This is a wakeup call for the leadership. They know where to find minerals but they do not talk about investing in the water bodies in the province,’ said Zivhu.
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said resource constraints were delaying progress at the dam and said as soon as resources were availed government would work on irrigation development, notwithstanding that government splashed almost US$90 million on Presidential goat scheme. It seems its misplaced priorities because the US$87 million could have gone a long way in establishing irrigation schemes at Tugwi Mukosi dam.
“It is a matter of resources. The dam has the capacity to irrigate 40 000ha at peak. Water conveyancing for that purpose remains a major cost. However with the renewed thrust on irrigation development using our water bodies at the moment, we should see some work start on irrigation establishment at Tugwi Mukosi and surroundings,” said Prof Jiri.
Jiri said government was still working on securing finance for irrigation development at the dam through private sector partnerships.
“The Ministry is having a conference where the President will be the guest of honour to drive the thrust on Zimbabwe irrigation investment. We need the private sector to chip in and finance,” said Prof Jiri.
Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, however, said utilisation of the dam for irrigation development was being stalled by launch of the Tugwi Mukosi Master Plan. He tried to defend government saying the dam was not lying idle because it is facilitating fishing cooperatives and irrigating sugarcane plantations.
“The vagaries of weather compromise our farming activities in Masvingo Province. This is exacerbated by the fact that we are predominantly agro-ecological region four and five which is characterised by low rainfall. Indeed Tugwi Mukosi Dam could be the panacea to drought induced challenges. The Government of Zimbabwe should be applauded for the Tugwi Mukosi Dam Project,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
He, however, failed to explicitly explain why government should be applauded for having the dam lying idle for close to a decade now yet thousands of people downstream are starving.
Dr Pazvakavambwa instead said everything was now in place and they were waiting for the launch of the Tugwi Mukosi Master Plan, meaning no meaningful development will be seen until they organize a function so that Mnangagwa can cut some ribbon.
“What has been outstanding was the Tugwi Mukosi Master Plan. This has been done and awaits launching and this has potential to unlock investments. I am sure it can be done anytime from now. However, the dam is not lying idle since it is supplying the sugarcane plantations in the Lowveld. There are also over ten fishing cooperatives operating in the dam,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
Local experts told TellZim News that setting up an irrigation system ranges from US$6 000 to US$9 000 per hectare that would mean an average of US$120 000 to US$180 000 for a 20 hectare scheme.
This means that Tugwi Mukosi irrigations scheme requires between US$240 – US$360 Million to set up and the amount could easily be raised considering the government is on record spending millions on corruption scandals like the US$87 million presidential goat scheme.
Chivi Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer Tariro Matavire said at local authority level nothing had been planned yet as their plan as a local authority would be guided by the yet to be launched Master Plan.
“So far there is nothing that we have planned as awe are waiting for approval of the Master Plan thereafter we can come up with the local development plan guided by the Master plan,” said Matavire.
Other experts who have spoken to this publication have also revealed that with all conditions set for a good harvest under irrigation an average yield of seven tonnes can be anticipated from one hectare of maize. This translates to 47 000 tonnes of maize crop that can be harvested at one go when the dam is used at its full capacity for irrigation.
As if to mock responsible authorities on irrigation development, the dam has a capacity to irrigate 40 000 ha yet the province has 69 637ha under irrigation while 65 403 are for the sugar estates which means the province only has about 4 234ha under irrigation for other crops; an embarrassing 10 percent of the dam’s capability.
Chivi District which hosts the other share of the dam, only had six functional communal irrigation schemes with a total of 272ha despite its great irrigation potential considering the availability of Muzhwi Dam in the district.
The government of Zimbabwe has been accused of having misplaced priorities with government projecting construction of yet another big dam bigger than Tugwi-Mukosi, Tende Runde which is expected to have a capacity of irrigating more than 35 000ha.
The government is targeting to export water from the dam to South Africa when it’s completed.
Government has been talking about making the province an irrigation hub with the greenbelt expected to major in the production of citrus, sugar and maize.
