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Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Reporter
SENIOR Minister of State in the President’s Office Cde Simon Khaya Moyo yesterday said the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP) remains a priority and the government was committed to its speedy completion.
Cde Khaya Moyo told delegates attending the Zimbabwe Pension Funds Investment Forum’s third conference in Bulawayo that the project, which has been in limbo for slightly over a century, was critical in turning around the country’s economy.
“It is one of the projects which when fully implemented, will catalyse the attainment of Zim-Asset objectives,” said Cde Moyo. “The Gwayi-Shangani Dam will boost the fishing industry and will also play a pivotal role in the development of agriculture in the country, in the process restoring the wealth that the country had previously enjoyed through agriculture which will be a significant contributor to the food and nutrition cluster.”
Cde Khaya Moyo said apart from easing the perennial water problems that have previously affected Bulawayo in particular and the southern region at large, the completion of the project would curb water related health problems and enhance the establishment of a hydro-power station to augment electricity generation in the country.
The NMZWP is expected to be implemented in phases, with the first being the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam which would receive water from the Zambezi River.
Recently, the Minister of Water, Environment and Climate, Cde Savior Kasukuwere, said about $90 million was required for the completion of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, whose construction has been halted due to a lack of funds.
The second phase would see the construction of a pipeline from Gwayi-Shangani Dam to a reservoir in Bulawayo’s Cowdray Park suburb while the third and final phase would be the construction of a 245KM pipeline from the Zambezi River to the Gwayi-Shangani Dam.
Cde Khaya Moyo said developing water sources was part of a broad-based infrastructure development thrust anchored in the Zim-Asset document that seeks to create a conducive environment for massive investment.
He made reference to a report made by the African Development Bank in 2010 which suggested that the country needed $40 billion to rehabilitate and develop its infrastructure.
“Infrastructural development remains a focal point towards our economic growth strategy as part of the key economic growth factors. We have thus identified priority areas in this sector as power supply and water sanitation provision,” said Cde Khaya Moyo.
“This Zimbabwe economic growth strategy is hinged on an efficient and reliable supply of electricity that will power the wheels of industry under the value-addition and beneficiation cluster.”
He called on the private sector to come on board and assist the government in reviving the country’s economy by investing in infrastructure development projects countrywide.
“For our productive sectors to efficiently drive this economic upturn, there is a need for government to expand electricity generation capacity through joint venture agreements and public and private partnerships (PPPs) with co-operating partners. This is because government is cognisant of the fact that power utility, Zesa, is battling with its financial situation and therefore has no capacity to expand its power generation. It has been plunged further deep by its dilapidating infrastructure as well as vandalism of its existing installations,” he said.
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