Online Reporter
George Maponga, Masvingo Bureau
IN the Gororo rural heartland in arid Chivi District, southern Masvingo is Zimbabwe’s largest inland water body, Tugwi-Mukosi Dam.
Built at the confluence of Mukosi and Tugwi rivers, the elephantine water body was commissioned in May 2017, having taken nearly two decades to construct.
The Government battled a litany of challenges to raise funding for the humongous project and the situation was exacerbated by illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe at the turn of the millennium which slammed doors closed on external credit lines.
From 1997, construction of the giant water body by Italian contractor Salini Impregilo encountered intermittent challenges until the finishing line was reached in 2017.
The completion and subsequent commissioning of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, with a full water carrying capacity of 1,8 billion cubic metres, further solidified Masvingo province’s revered position as the region with the highest dam density in Zimbabwe.
Experts say Masvingo currently holds 54 percent of Zimbabwe’s dammed water, making the province a perfect launchpad for a sustained onslaught against hunger.
Tugwi-Mukosi becomes central to any irrigation development puzzle considering its potential to irrigate around 40 000 hectares in the Lowveld, if the latest irrigation technology is factored in.
Chivi-born businessman Mr Elias Mashamhanda said there is need to harness Tugwi-Mukosi water to create a perennial greenbelt that would anchor Zimbabwe’s drive to food self-sufficiency.
“We can turn vast tracts of land in Chivi District into a greenbelt, tapping water from Tugwi-Mukosi Dam. There is need to pool resources together so that we draw water from the water body for irrigation purposes. Chivi could form part of a greenbelt that will be created using water from the huge dam.
“There is a big possibility of public-private sector partnerships where private capital should be attracted to Chivi for irrigation development so that we don’t just grow food but also other cash crops targeting the export market,” said Mr Mashamhanda.
He said across Chivi, approximately 10 000 hectares could be turned into a greenbelt including areas such as Maringire, Zunga and large parts of Shindi communal lands where Tugwi-Mukosi water will be conveyed via gravity.
“There is absolutely no reason why communities in Chivi must rely on food aid when there is abundant water in Tugwi-Mukosi which is Zimbabwe’s largest inland water body. There are prospects for commercial fishing that benefit locals as a low hanging fruit but the biggest takeaway is irrigation all year round which boosts the arid district’s food security,” said Mr Mashamhanda.
Chivi North National Assembly representative Cde Godfrey Mukungunugwa likened Tugwi-Mukosi Dam to a sleeping giant that has the potential to revolutionise agriculture in the arid Chivi District.
“Chivi District has dams such as Muzhwi and Bindamombe but I think the coming on board of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam completely changed the irrigation matrix because we are talking of a water body that can irrigate more than 40 000ha and this will guarantee Zimbabwe food security, turning the country into a net food exporter,” he said.
“There is an urgent need for the Government to allocate more resources for irrigation development in Chivi and other areas downstream of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam so that we grow food, not only for local consumption but also for export.”
The legislator said cereals, notably maize and wheat, could be priority crops that are grown under irrigation using the dam’s water in a move that would effectively stem food shortages in Zimbabwe while propelling the country to the zenith of cereals exporters in the southern Africa sub region.
Tugwi-Mukosi Dam falls under the gamut of the Lowveld Integrated Irrigation Development master plan, an ambitious plan that envisages creation of a massive greenbelt in the Lowveld straddling over 200 000ha.
The anticipated greenbelt will stretch from Mwenezi in the west to Chiredzi in the south east and this ambitious plan is predicated on Tugwi-Mukosi water and additional supplies from the planned Runde-Tende Dam that will be built at the confluence of Runde and Tende rivers in Chivi District.
Preliminary plans show that the Lowveld irrigation development plan will be anchored on these two dams — Runde-Tende and Tugwi-Mukosi — with other water bodies such as Lake Mutirikwi, Bindamombe, Bangala, Muzhwi, Manyuchi, Manjirenji and Siya dams expected to also provide water to nourish this big greenbelt.
Permanent Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Masvingo Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa said full exploitation of the province’s vast irrigation potential was top on the list of priorities as Masvingo eyes morphing into an US$8 billion economy by 2030. “Our ambitious drive to grow our provincial gross domestic product to US$8 billion by the year 2030 is anchored on realising fully our vast agricultural potential that hinges on irrigation development through optimum use of water bodies like Tugwi-Mukosi Dam in southern Chivi,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
The provincial leadership was closely collaborating with the Government to host the Tugwi-Mukosi investment conference where harnessing the water body for irrigation is expected to loom large.
“The province is working closely with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion to host the Tugwi-Mukosi investment conference where we expect key issues around the water body to be exhausted especially the issue of investment in irrigation to make Masvingo province a national irrigation hub,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
Under the Integrated Lowveld Irrigation Development master plan, the anticipated 200 000ha greenbelt will also be home to citrus plantations, sugar cane and Lucerne, which is used to make stock feed.
Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira said Tugwi-Mukosi is a boon for irrigation development in Masvingo.
He said President Mnangagwa as the patron of the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (DTZ) had donated to the province 80 000ha of land at the vast Nuanetsi Ranch for resettlement purposes to satiate demand for land and whittle down the number of people on the waiting list for land in the province.
Minister Chadzamira said the fact that Nuanetsi Ranch was located downstream of Tugwi-Mukosi dam made it easy to convey water from the dam for irrigation.
“We have started allocation of plots to our people who need land at Nuanetsi Ranch where the Government pegged plots after President Mnangagwa donated land for resettlement. Our goal is to incorporate all this land under an envisaged greenbelt that will be irrigated using Tugwi-Mukosi Dam water,” he said.
The minister said more than 4 000 families who were displaced by Tugwi-Mukosi Dam flooding and relocated to Chingwizi in Mwenezi East will also constitute primary beneficiaries of land under the irrigation development programme.
The creation of a massive greenbelt in the Lowveld using Tugwi-Mukosi water will also spawn industrialisation and urbanisation as agro-processing industries are billed to set up shop to process various crops that will be produced.
Expanded sugar cane production will attract more sugar mills in the Lowveld and companies into ethanol production, further entrenching Zimbabwe’s pivot towards eco-friendly energy.
Currently, some small irrigation schemes in the vicinity of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam have started undergoing expansion with Banga Irrigation scheme being the most prominent one. The expansion of Banga augurs well for efforts to boost food security at Ngundu Growth Point and surrounding areas.
Banga plot-holders are selling their fresh produce at Ngundu Growth Point, boosting household incomes, which is in sync with Vision 2030 and President Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
Chivi South legislator Cde Felix Maburutse said it is the expectation of people in his constituency that Tugwi-Mukosi dam water will be used to exorcise the notorious ghost of perennial hunger which has earned the area a place in infamy.
“As the Member of Parliament for Chivi South constituency, it is my expectation that communities in wards 26, 27 and 28 in Chivi South are able to benefit from future irrigation projects using water from Tugwi-Mukosi Dam. The problem of hunger in arid Chivi can only be completely eradicated if we venture into irrigation,” he said.
Cde Maburutse, who is also the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture implored the Government to develop canals that will enhance irrigation for communities in his constituency.
“We can’t continue to carry the undesirable baggage of being known as a place of perennial hunger. Chivi South in particular can realise food security if the Government develops canals for villagers in wards 23, 24, 31 and 32. At parliamentary level, we have been engaging the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development to prioritise development of canals for community irrigation in Chivi South because the constituency is home to the biggest inland dam in Zimbabwe,” he added.
With climate change notoriously raising its head recurrently like a sphinx, Masvingo province can self-insulate from the effects of recurrent droughts by harnessing water from Tugwi-Mukosi Dam for irrigation development, making the water body the main anchor of food security, as Zimbabwe races towards becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
