Chronicle Editor
“Let me assure you that this National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project will become a reality during my administration.”
This was President Mnangagwa’s declaration in February this year as he committed that the Second Republic will fulfil the century-old dream to permanently solve Matabeleland region’s water problems through the NMZWP.
He was presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gwayi-Shangani-Bulawayo Pipeline Project in Nyamandlovu, Umguza District in Matabeleland North, marking the commencement of the NMZWP.
THE Lake Gwayi-Shangani is expected to be completed next month while the 245km pipeline that connects the dam to Bulawayo set to be completed in December next year.
The dam, with a holding capacity of 650 million cubic metres of water, and pipeline project are major components of the NMZWP, which was first mooted in 1912 but has failed to take off under previous successive administrations.
It is only after the coming in of the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa that the project has received significant fiscal support and political will that has seen it taking off at an accelerated pace.
The project involves various phases which include the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, the construction of a pipeline from the dam to Bulawayo and another pipeline which will draw water from the Zambezi River.
The move by Government sets the pace for increased food production along the greenbelt, robust investment attraction and industrialisation of Matabeleland North, which will lead to creation of more job opportunities down the value chain.
The speedy implementation has been received with huge excitement in the southern region, on the background of perceived historical marginalisation and underdevelopment of the Matabeleland region, in particular.
Yesterday, this publication carried a story where Government, in keeping up with the President’s promise, announced that it had selected six contractors to urgently work on the 245km pipeline while insisting that implementation timelines for both the pipeline and dam projects will be met as planned.
Giving an update on the project in parliament, Finance and Economic Development Deputy Minister, Clemence Chiduwa, said:
“We were assigned by His Excellency (President Mnangagwa) and he said ‘by December 2021, I would want to see Gwayi-Shangani Dam completed’. This is a project that we have worked on and by December, Gwayi-Shangani Dam will be completed.
“Already, we have selected six contractors who are already dealing with the pipeline as we complete the dam. This is a project that we started hearing about when we were still children.
“He (President) also directed us that by December, 2022, he would want to open a tap with water from Gwayi-Shangani Dam, which is part of the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project.
“So, by December, 2022 in terms of the resource allocation, His Excellency should commission the completion of the whole project and opening water in Bulawayo next year. So, this is where we are and in terms of the implementation.”
The deputy minister said the dam and pipeline projects were being run concurrently, adding that the bigger picture was to see these projects impacting positively on the wider economy.
“Already the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural development is working on the plans to ensure that. For us it is about what we are going to use the water for and not just the water.
“We have an integrated system where as we do these activities, completion of the dam and pipeline, we are also working on the grand plan of the activities that are going to take place along the pipeline. This is where we are.
Government has already commenced work on an integrated master plan for the greenbelt economy and Treasury continues to pump funding to speed up construction processes.
About $535 million has since been allocated towards the commencement of the pipeline construction phase.
From the report given by the deputy minister, the declaration by the President in February was followed by action and evidence of movement is there on the ground for everyone to see.
The country is moving forward together in development just like the President said of the benefits of the project when completed.
“This resonates with my administration’s commitment to equalisation principles under the devolution and decentralisation agenda. I, therefore, challenge communities to maintain the momentum and unity of purpose which has resulted in the development milestones we are recording across the country,” he said.
“No one and no place in our country should be left behind. There are no spectators in the projects which my Government continues to roll out, our people must be organised as both participants and beneficiaries.”
It is now up to all progressive and patriotic Zimbabweans to follow President Mnangagwa’s lead as his administration takes the country to new levels of development.
Online Reporter