adminGROWING up I always knew there was something solid, cynical and unsentimental about Chivi the area and its people. First it was the old Shona adage about an elderly woman from Chivi who boiled stones and drank the “soup” after she ran out of food. The picture one gets is that of an area that is so vulnerable to drought.
Then there was another one of a famous goblin “Hanyanani” which is believed to have terrorised villagers in the remote district of Masvingo Province.
And merely looking at the meaning of the name Chivi, which means a terrible sin, I believed every misfortune in this area, its backwardness and under-development coupled with large tracks of land that are not arable, was probably because the area was cursed for the sins probably committed by their forefathers.
Despite all these beliefs, myths and superstitions the area that I have always known to be mired by a concoction of challenges emanating from perennial droughts has at last discovered a ray of hope with the construction of the famous Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam.
Having last been to Chivi a couple of years ago, I could not imagine that in such a short space of time things could suddenly be seemingly looking up.
Mountains have been drilled, volumes of earth have been moved by each passing day and the monstrous dam-wall is taking shape.
Soon and hopefully soon, an earth real view of the southern wonder would be taken from the dam wall.
Vast lands are being prepared for a massive 25 000 hectare sugar cane production scheme and various irrigation farming opportunities are being opened in this Region Five that has known droughts and hunger for so many years.
Eyes of probable investors are opening wide “googling” investment prospects.
Talk of game ranching, fishery, hotel and accommodation, lodges, recreational activities — skiing, diving. In short parts of the famous Victoria Falls will go to Chivi.
For a native, the enormous Tokwe-Mukorsi project comes as a great wonder in the midst of a once desert like area characterised by rocky and arid land and with no trees to talk of but thorny shrubs that do not grow more than a metre.
For a usual passerby, what caught the eye the previous day would be fast gone the next leaving puzzles of diverse prospects.
The construction of what the next eye views in its own dimension and what every other mind ponders in its own aspect, 120km south east of the ancient city of Masvingo has brought with it a hive of activities in the countryside — beaming hope at the end of a once seemingly closed tunnel.
Talk of places, people and time, Chivi will never be the same again.
Like any big project, opening up of opportunities is the local person’s greatest expectation.
Alas, shuttering of some traditional social contracts is inevitable.
Once completed, a small hydro-power station will be installed at Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam to generate six megawatts of electricity for Chivi South.
However, the ray of hope was somehow blurred sometime after floods swept away hundreds of homesteads killing many livestock that were apparently the principal source of income for the villagers rendering them more vulnerable to drought.
The villagers were later moved to Chingwizi in Mwenezi although there were murmurs of discontent from the communities that felt they were no longer going to benefit from the dam that was initially at their doorstep.
And what now remains lingering in the minds of many villagers is whether they will ever reap the benefits of the Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam as the much touted completion of the dam suffered a huge setback when over 900 workers from Gororo area suddenly became jobless.
Headman Nyambirai of Chivi whose area will be covered by the downstream activities where a greenbelt is envisaged believes the completion of the dam will not only benefit the people of Masvingo but the country at large in ensuring food security.
He said villagers were waiting in vain for the completion of the dam whose idea was mooted way before he was born.
“Everyone in this area has his hopes pinned on the completion of the dam. It is unfortunate that the construction of the dam has been halted due to various reasons better known to the Government. If the dam had been completed by November 2014 as has been projected, things could have changed around here. I don’t think we could be talking about hunger.
“We hope that Government secures funds to resume the construction of the dam. Many youths in this area were absorbed by the dam construction and their livelihoods and that of their dependents had transformed for the better,” he said.
Construction of Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam wall, which is believed to be the largest inland dam in the country started in April 1998 before it was stalled due to shortage of funds.
Work later resumed after Government committed itself to injecting US$70 million into the project.
Many villagers feel the dam is Masvingo’s lifeline in terms of food security as the dam is expected to provide irrigation water to the communities around.
Paradoxically, Masvingo which currently have the biggest inland dam in Mutirikwe (formely Kyle) Dam has always experienced low to below average rains which in turn make the province very prone to drought.
Most areas such as Mwenezi, Chiredzi, Chivi, Zaka and some parts of Gutu have always known hunger by its totem mainly because they are in the natural agricultural Region Five that receives low rainfall.
And despite efforts by relevant stakeholders to call for communities to grow small grain crops that are drought resistant, the uptake has been very slow as the communities have little knowledge regarding the changes in climate that are impacting negatively on agriculture on a global scale.
And because of the drought most youths in areas such as Chivi, Chiredzi and Mwenezi have since migrated to South Africa in search of greener pastures where they are doing less paying menial jobs making it difficult for them to save enough to send something back home.
Such has been the life of the majority of people in Masvingo’s most drought hit districts who remain looking forward to the completion of the dam which is likely going to provide the panacea to their food security concerns.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister responsible for crop production Cde Davis Marapira said the irrigation that was going to be set at Tokwe-Mukorsi had the potential of producing over 400 000 tonnes of maize which could meet a fifth of the national demand annually.
He said it also had potential to employ 10 000 people.
“The project requires about $30 million to be completed and Treasury is seized with that. The completion of the dam would go a long way in alleviating hunger as well as partially fulfilling the Zim Asset cluster on food security. It has a potential of producing 400 000 metric tonnes of maize every season. Our national demand is about
2 million tonnes annually.
“Activities at Tokwe Mukorsi after its completion can create over 10 000 jobs as well as over 100 000 jobs downstream. The Ministry of Finance is working flat out to secure funding for the completion of the project,” he said.
He added that although the dam was strategic agriculturally it was going to open a lot of business opportunities and serve an array of sectors such as tourism and energy where electricity would be generated and the sub-total of it all would be the improvement of communities’ livelihoods.
Online Reporter