Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Senior Reporter
SEVEN families from Matete village in Murewa district have been successfully moved to newly built homes, clearing the way for the completion of Kunzvi Dam, a key water body that is expected to address water shortages in Harare and support economic activities in Mashonaland East province.
The families, who were living within the dam’s spillway zone, received keys to their new homes last week, becoming the first group resettled under a broader relocation programme targeting 435 households.
Speaking during a media tour of high-impact development projects being undertaken in Harare Metropolitan province, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said the dam was now 62 percent complete.
“Kunzvi Dam is going to augment water supplies into Harare Metropolitan province and is now at 62 percent in terms of completion,” said Dr Muswere.
“Part of the ecosystem includes irrigation facilities for more than 500 hectares, contributing to food security and the tobacco transformation plan. The major priority is to augment water supplies into Harare, covering Ruwa and many other northern suburbs.
“The construction of the dam is also expected to create jobs, promote aquaculture and boost tourism around Goromonzi and Mashonaland East province.”
Resident engineer Davison Madondo said relocating families in the spillway area was critical to allow work to proceed safely.
Construction of the remaining 428 homesteads is underway, with the goal of completing all relocations by the time the dam begins to hold water.
“We have 435 families set for relocation from this area, but for now we have completed the construction of seven homesteads for families who are in the spillway area where we want to start working,” said Engineer Madondo.
“We built a three-bedroom house, a kitchen, a silo and a toilet for each family and we also installed a solar system for each house.”
One of the relocated residents, Mrs Emma Kanjanda, expressed gratitude for the new home and the unexpected upgrades.
“I am happy because we never expected this, but God is faithful,” she said. The dam is a flagship development under the Second Republic. Once operational, it is expected to support both urban development and rural transformation.
