Zimbabwe to sell 15 million cubic litres of water to SA

GOVERNMENT announced last Friday that it is stepping up efforts to supply water to the northern parts of South Africa and will initially dispatch about 15 million cubic litres every month despite admitting failure to build a pipeline since 1995.

The pipeline is set to be constructed from Beitbridge's massive Zhovhe Dam.

 Soon after completion of the construction of Zhovhe Dam almost 28 years ago, the government received US$25 million from Kuwait for a water conduit to supply Beitbridge at the same time feeding irrigation schemes in communal areas.

The pipeline or canal was expected to benefit communal people who since the completion of the dam are yet to benefit from the structure, the country's 11th largest dam with a capacity of 133 million cubic litres.

Beitbridge villagers are perennially at the top of government and relief agencies' food aid lists.

Villages along the proposed pipeline to Beitbridge include Vice-President Kembo Mohadi's Mtetengwe home area, Malala, Tshibidzanani, Makakavhule and Dimlomu all on suitable flatlands home to about 40 000 people.

The last information heard about the US$25 million Kuwaiti fund was when the irrigation department said it was designing the pipeline route and identifying beneficiary irrigation schemes.

Now it releases water from Zhovhe Dam recharge an alluvial aquifer in the lower Mzingwane River where water is abstracted from boreholes and well-points in the river and on the banks to feed a few but large commercial farms under citrus production.

"Zhovhe Dam is idle and not making any sense to villagers who should be having plots under irrigation," said Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development minister Anxious Masuka.

"We must build that pipeline and we have identified 4 000 hectares of irrigable land. Some of the water will be exported to Musina."

Masuka said while initially water to supply Musina could be from Zhovhe, eventually it will be drawn from the planned Runde-Tende Dam, a massive structure double the size of the 1,8 billion cubic litre Tugwi-Mukosi Dam.

Runde-Tende will be in Chivi South and Italian company Sallini, which built both the Zhovhe and Tugwi-Mukosi dams, won the tender to build the pipeline from the Runde-Tende Dam site to Beitbridge.

Along its path to South Africa, that pipeline is also expected to create a greenbelt in Beitbridge, Chivi and Mwenezi when supplies are drawn from the purpose-built Runde-Tende Dam located in Chivi South.

Masuka said the two governments were meeting soon to further discuss progress of the multi-million dollar deal sealed almost four years ago.

 "We will soon meet with our South African counterparts to discuss the stages of the deal. Initially we will supply 15 million cubic litres of water. We will also open up land for irrigation in Beitbridge where communal farmers are expected to benefit from the Zhovhe.

"There are 4 000 ha of land we expect communal farmers to put under crops," said Masuka.

Masuka was addressing provincial ministers from some of the country's 10 provinces he hosted to appeal for their support and management of agricultural projects he hopes will turn around Zimbabwe's economic fortunes.