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Blessings Chidakwa Herald Correspondent
Government has, with immediate effect, renamed the country’s largest inland water body, Tokwe-Mukosi Dam to Tugwi-Mukosi.
The new name is derived from Tugwi and Mukosi, the two rivers that feed into the dam. Tugwi is a Shona name that means a “flooded river”.
Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo announced the name change during a two-day workshop in Kadoma yesterday.
The workshop is being attended by provincial and district administrators drawn from all over the country as well as council heads at Kadoma Ranch Hotel. The Cabinet minister said the name change from Tokwe-Mukosi to Tugwi-Mukosi will soon be published in a Government Gazette to officialise the move.
“Government has always said the correct name is Tugwi and from today it will be called Tugwi after the name of the river that feed into the dam,” said Minister Moyo.
“On Mukosi we have also removed the ‘r’ as the name appeared more of Italian than Shona.
“I have asked my officials to make sure that we gazette the name change that we have made.”
Minister Moyo emphasised the importance of strict adherence to the law when making such changes.
“Once we do something within the law we know we can control things, but outside we would be faced with challenges in future,” he said.
Government could not effect the name change on the dam before or during construction because of legal implications as the original name, Tokwe-Mukosi, was coined by the colonial regime in the 1950s when plans to build the reservoir were first mooted.
The change could have legally impacted on the agreement signed between Government and the dam contractor, Salini Impregilo an Italian firm since the name Tokwe-Murkosi is what appeared on pre-construction maps.
Tugwi-Mukosi was commissioned in May last year and is billed as a permanent panacea to recurrent food woes in drought-prone Masvingo Province because of its potential to irrigate more than 25 000ha in arid southern parts of the province.
The dam was built at a cost of nearly $300 million and besides irrigation, it also has potential to spur tourism and generate electricity through a mini-hydro power plant that would generate 15 mega- watts.
Online Reporter