Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike recently in MASVINGO
THE €4 million state-of-the-art Great Zimbabwe Development project, inaugurated by President Mnangagwa in June 2022, is almost complete with partners expected to hand it to the Government within the next two months upon completion.
The project, which will see the construction of a world-class information centre, is almost 85 percent complete with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) targeting to complete the physical structure by month end.
The project is being funded by the French government through the French Development Agency (AFD), with Unesco being responsible for software development.
UNOPS acting country director Mr Clement Mhlanga said they were expecting to hand over the project to Government, through the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) in March this year.
Mr Mhlanga said the facility is part of a broader project, which will see the Great Zimbabwe monuments given a facelift that matches other world heritage sites.
“The Great Zimbabwe Development Project is a much bigger project than just the construction that you see here,” he said.
“This project is being funded by the French government, and they are funding us through the French Development Agency (AFD), which is their development wing.
“Through them, we have received €4 million to support the development of the Great Zimbabwe Development Project. This money has been received by UNOPS, because we are the project managers for this project, but we don’t work alone; we are working with UNESCO.”
Mr Mhlanga said UNESCO is working on all the software components of the project.
He added that their client, for the project, is the NMMZ, representing the Government.
“They are the ones that are advising on what has to be done in terms of Government policy and Government requirements for this project,” he said.
The project follows a feasibility study by the NMMZ in 2019 to ascertain how they could sustain the Great Zimbabwe heritage site.
Mr Mhlanga said under the Great Zimbabwe Development Project, they have made significant progress.
“This project here was actually launched in June of 2022 by President Mnangagwa. The project was a result of a feasibility study conducted sometime back in about 2019, September thereabout.
“So, the AFD was doing that feasibility study with NMMZ. The idea was to look at how best can we support the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Monument, maybe to improve it in order for us to better manage this heritage asset that we have,” he said.
Mr Mhlanga said the feasibility study identified several areas that needed some support in terms of infrastructure.
“I think it was also established that we needed to do quite a number of things, including construction of a visitor’s reception centre, like the one that we are building here.
“It was also established that we needed to do a car park, we needed to do pathways, and a few other things. So, those were established in the feasibility study, which then emanated into the €4 million project, which we have been implementing here and the progress we have registered to date is quite significant,” he said.
Mr Mhlanga said they have since done the development of the heritage impact assessment, which was approved by the World Heritage Centre.
NMMZ southern region director Mr Lovemore Mandima said the facility will be a game changer to the monument.
“As you are aware that apart from being declared a national monument in 1937, it was proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1986.
“That proclamation speaks to the fact that indeed Great Zimbabwe is now a gift to the world and therefore this project is going to enhance visitorship, is going to give visitor experience which is different from what we have been offering.
“It is a one-stop shop where upon arrival at the World Heritage Site; visitors are going to get an environment which befits that of a World Heritage Site,” said Mr Mandima.
In terms of benefits, he said, they are already witnessing some because a majority of people working at the project are drawn from the local communities.
“We shall cater for all categories of our visitors from domestic tourists, regional tourists and international tourists.
“That in itself does create a suitable environment for visitors who will be coming throughout the place,” he said.
Mr Mandima said the facility will start operating in the first quarter of this year.
The Shona Village at Great Zimbabwe, has been upgraded.
The village, which is a living museum near the ancient ruins, showcases traditional Karanga Shona life with recreated homesteads (musha) and cultural practices like crafts, music and healing, offering insight into the culture of the people who built the monumental stone city centuries ago.
Mr Mandima said the NMMZ has acquired a number of artefacts which will assist in the interpretation of the Shona Village and in the understanding of the Zimbabwean culture from interacting with the artefacts which are now dotted around the huts within the village.
Wedge Construction director, Mr Vincent Mahofisi, said his company will meet the project deadline as they are now left with plumping and sprucing up some sections of the building.
“We are confident that we will meet the deadline as we are already 90 percent towards completion of the facility. Everything is in place and we very confident the project will be handed over on the date as agreed,” he said.
