Online Reporter
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has arrived at the Bhulaayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme in Binga as part of his ongoing tour of major economic projects in the province.
The tour comes after visits on Tuesday to Hwange Colliery Mine and the Zhong Jing Heli Energy power station, aimed at assessing operational progress on key initiatives driving regional development.
Accompanied by Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo, the Vice President will today receive updates on the revitalisation of the Bhulaayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme. Established in the early 2000s, the scheme had remained largely dormant due to challenges in pumping water from the Zambezi River. Government intervention, including funding and the transfer of oversight to the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), has revived the project, which is being expanded to cover 15,000 hectares.
The irrigation scheme is set to boost food and nutrition security across Binga District, Matabeleland North, and the nation at large, especially in the face of climate change and recurrent droughts.
Later this afternoon, VP Chiwenga will visit the Kamativi Mining Company (KMC), which focuses on lithium exploration, mining, and processing. The site, formerly a tin mine that closed in 1994, is being developed to support economic growth and job creation in the region.
Stay tuned for live updates as the Vice President tours these pivotal projects.
VP Chiwenga arrives at Bhulaayo Kraal, Binga
VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has arrived at the Bhulaayo Kraal irrigation scheme in Binga, as part of his familiarisation tour of key economic projects in Matabeleland North province.
On Tuesday the Vice President toured Hwange Colliery Mine and the Zhong Jing Heli Energy power station. He is accompanied by Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo.
Today (Wednesday) the Vice President is expected to get an update on the operationalisation of Bhulaayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme, one of the key projects being implemented by the Second Republic in Matabeleland North.
The irrigation scheme was established in the early 2000 but had remained dormant largely due to failure in terms of pumping water from the Zambezi River to the fields.
Government has channelled a lot of funds towards the revitalisation of the massive irrigation scheme.
The irrigation scheme is envisaged to promote food and nutrition security in the dry Binga District and Matabeleland North Province, as well as the entire country, especially in the wake of the effects of climate change and recurrent drought.
The Government put the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) in charge of the project, taking over from the Department of Irrigation, which had been managing the project over the years.
It is envisaged that the irrigation scheme, which is being expanded to cover 15 000 hectares, will promote food and nutrition security in the country, which is reeling under the effects of climate change and recurrent drought.
Later in the afternoon, VP Chiwenga is expected to tour the Kamativi Mining Company (KMC).
The mine started operations in 2019 and is focused on lithium exploration, mining, and processing within Kamativi, a former tin mine, which closed in 1994 when international prices of tin plummeted to unsustainable levels.
At the time, the tin mine employed 3 000 workers and still had a life span of 40 years.
Bhulaayo Kraal irrigation scheme must be operationalised: VP Chiwenga
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has expressed disappointment on the lack of development at the Bhulaayo Kraal Irrigation scheme in Binga calling on responsible authorities to pull up their socks and ensure that the scheme is operationalised.
The Vice President was speaking during a briefing with various stakeholders, which include Government officials, Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) personnel, traditional leaders and officials from Binga Rural District Council, before touring the scheme.
He said it was unacceptable that the scheme did not have a single plant despite its proximity with the Zambezi River.
“There has to be change here. We came here and agreed that where there is the pump, it won’t be able to pump water to the entire 15 000 hectares.
Yes, the 300 hectares is for the local community, but we are talking of the greater Binga, there is 15 000 hectares to be developed.
“By now these 15 000 hectares should have been developed and nothing should have stopped this. We had also said let us create fishing dams, we were all agreed with the community here and even Arda we had agreed, why that has not be done, puzzles my mind,” said VP Chiwenga.
The Vice President called for a whole of Government and society approach in addressing the failure to operationalise the scheme.
“We need to come together and make this scheme operational. It must be able to produce enough grain, we must be able to produce citrus just like what we have done in Beitbridge and the people to do it are right here, we do not need to import people to do this, we will do it ourselves,” he said.
“We cannot die of hunger while our feet are in water, its impossible. Whatever mistakes we might have done, we are human, we must now correct them and move forward, let us develop Bhulaayo Kraal, we want to see it a completely different picture, let us turn it into an industrial hub,” added the Vice President.
Vice President Chiwenga orders end to raw lithium exports
VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has issued a firm directive to the nation’s lithium mining sector, demanding that all companies cease the export of raw ore/spodumene and establish value-addition facilities by January next year.
Vice President Chiwenga made the declaration after a tour of the Kamativi Mining Company in Matabeleland North this Wednesday, as part of his ongoing familiarisation tour of economic activity in the province.
While expressing profound appreciation for the work done to resuscitate collapsed mines like Kamativi, Vice President Chiwenga said the next, non-negotiable phase of development is local beneficiation to build a self-sufficient and industrialised Zimbabwe.
“The cabinet has already indicated that we want now further beneficiation for the economy,” said Vice President Chiwenga.
He emphasised that the Government’s vision is for Zimbabwe to be a central player in the region and the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area.
Reflecting on the progress he witnessed, Vice President Chiwenga acknowledged the transformation of the mining sector.
“I am excited from what has taken place since 1910. But mainly growing out now we find in lithium the Government has done tremendously bringing life to the mines,” he said.
However, he was clear that the era of simply extracting and exporting raw materials must come to an end.
“We can no longer keep on doing the extraction and shipping and giving other people the resources. As we have said, January, we expect all companies that are now in lithium, to be now not exporting, but now to making tangible products,” he said.
He challenged miners to produce finished goods that carry a Made in Zimbabwe label, which would create more jobs and capture greater value from the country’s mineral wealth.
“If we are going to make an electric vehicle, so be it. Whatever we are going to make with cell phones, so be it. Let us do something that is an end product. The precious mineral that we are taking, it must be processed and bring something that can be, say, made in Zimbabwe, from the region we come from. That is what we want,” he said.
Vice President Chiwenga connected this industrial push to the nation’s long-term legacy.
“We have got generations that will follow us and those generations must see that we built our country,” he said.
The January deadline places lithium miners on a clear trajectory, signalling a new chapter where Zimbabwe’s mineral resources are fundamentally leveraged for comprehensive national economic development.
Day three of Vice President’s tour of the Matabeleland North economic projects in the province.
VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has arrived here at Lake Gwayi-Shangani in Matabeleland North to assess progress at one of the Second Republic’s flagship projects in the province.
Today’s tour is part of the Vice President’s familiarisation visit to key economic projects in Matabeleland North, which began on Tuesday.
He is accompanied by Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo.
The dam is now 73 percent complete following renewed Government funding for the flagship national project.
The dam wall has reached 43 metres and will stand at 72 metres once fully completed.
Lake Gwayi-Shangani forms the first phase of the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP), which also includes a 252-kilometre pipeline to Bulawayo and a 122-kilometre pipeline linking the dam to the Zambezi River.
Over the past two days, the Vice President has visited Hwange Colliery, Zhong Jing Heli Energy Power Station, Bhulaayo Kraal Irrigation Scheme and the Kamativi Mining Company.
VP Chiwenga to tour Mary Ellen Farm
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, is expected to tour Mary Ellen Farm in Bubi district in Matabeleland North today.
The visit is part of his ongoing assessment of agricultural productivity and rural development initiatives being implemented under the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 agenda.
VP Chiwenga will engage with local farmers and stakeholders to evaluate progress on irrigation schemes, livestock production, and value addition projects aimed at improving food security and livelihoods in the province.
