Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu
THE Government is working closely with development partners to unlock wider opportunities for locals under the “Dam Economy” initiative, which is expected to benefit more rural communities and increase their contribution to the country’s progress.
Speaking during a tour of projects supported by the recently rehabilitated Wanezi Dam, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary, Professor Obert Jiri, said the country has over 10 600 water bodies, with a majority of them remaining underutilised.
He said the 10 600 water bodies can irrigate two million hectares of land, thereby ensuring food sufficiency in the country.
Professor Jiri said the Government, working with partners, continues to climate-proof the agricultural sector through investing in irrigation infrastructure, with the construction of dams remaining key.
The rehabilitation of Wanezi Dam has seen the establishment of a 35-hectare irrigation scheme.
The community has also benefited under Government’s Presidential Community Fisheries Scheme with 10 000 tilapia fingerlings having been stocked at Wanezi Dam.
The dam is also supplying two schools and will cater for a seven-hectare irrigation scheme at the school. A piped water scheme benefiting about 100 households has been set up.
Constructed in 1952, Wanezi Dam, which was a major source of livelihood for farmers, was damaged by Cyclone Dineo in 2016, leaving villagers in despair.
In 2024, the dam was rehabilitated under the Community Climate Adaptation Water and Energy Project (Cawep) funded by the British Embassy and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), working with Government departments.
“What we are seeing here in the form of this dam isn’t just water but an economy, which we call the dam economy. The dam economy has six components, with the first being the establishment of the dam itself so that water isn’t lost.
“Having a dam unlocks an economy that we should have in our rural areas. Out of the potential of two million hectares that we can irrigate with the available water bodies in the country, we only have 223 000 hectares under irrigation,” said Prof Jiri.
