adminWork on the project started about six years ago but not much has been done except to clear the canal path.
The council’s chief executive officer, Mr Albert Mbedzi said the canal project was mooted about 20 years ago and the real work was supposed to have started six years ago.
Mr Mbedzi said the proposed canal was meant to transform the area stretching from the dam to Beitbridge town into a green belt as villagers take advantage of the water in the canal to cultivate crops under irrigation.
He said the major stumbling block was lack of funds to implement the project which will not only guarantee Beitbridge town adequate water supplies, but will also transform people’s lives as the project will improve food security.
The dam with a capacity of 133 million cubic metres, was constructed in 1995, mainly to supply water to the border town.
The dam was also meant to provide irrigation water to communities living along the proposed canal.
The communities were expected to engage in commercial agro-business such as growing crops for export. According to experts there is a ready market for farm produce such as citrus fruits and horticulture products.
The dam was also meant to supply water to already established irrigation schemes such as Zhovhe-Ndambe irrigation project.
These envisaged projects meant to uplift the people’s standard of life cannot be implemented because they are all hinged on the completion of the canal.
Matabeleland South provincial chief irrigation officer, Engineer Tamuka Moyo said his department required at least $20 million to complete the Zhovhe canal project.
What is disturbing is that there are many similar projects dotted throughout the country that are meant to directly benefit the people but work on the projects was abandoned many years ago due to lack of funding.
Government should prioritise such projects which are meant to uplift the people’s standard of living.
What Government should do is to concentrate on completing the already started projects as opposed to starting new projects and then abandon them halfway because of lack of funds.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti should each year set aside money to these complete projects.
He should in fact allocate more resources to fund completion of projects so that the people can start benefiting from the investment.
The Zhovhe Dam canal project is vital in that it will guarantee the border down adequate water supplies which is one of the key issues that investors consider when deciding where to put their money.
Towns and cities that have adequate water supplies therefore have an advantage when it comes to attracting investors.
We have said it before that our economy is agro-based and as such projects meant to boost agricultural production should be given priority when it comes to allocation of resources.
According Beitbridge authorities, the Zhovhe Dam canal has the potential to create employment for the local communities as people will be engaged in cash crop farming.
We want to once again implore Government to ensure projects that have already been started are completed so that communities can start deriving benefits from such projects instead of them remaining half complete.
Online Reporter