Senior Reporter
TREASURY has disbursed ZiG382 million for water and sanitation during the first six months of the year, with ZiG36,9 million going towards Kunzvi Dam construction, as the Second Republic takes practical steps to provide water for domestic, industrial and agricultural use.
Presenting his mid-term fiscal policy review last week, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said he was maintaining the strategic thrust of the 2024 National Budget on water and sanitation to upscale investment in the sector as part of measures to guarantee water supply for domestic, industrial and agricultural use as well as mitigate the impact of the increased incidence of droughts.
"In this regard, focus during the first half of the year was on the following: rehabilitation and maintenance of existing water and sanitation infrastructure, scaling up implementation of ongoing dam projects, capacitation of local authorities, and borehole drilling in rural areas," he said.
"To support these programmes, ZiG382 million was disbursed during the first six months of 2024, covering dam construction and water supply schemes. Currently, 10 dam construction projects are at different levels of completion with focus mainly on Gwayi Shangani and Kunzvi dams."
Prof Ncube said Kunzvi Dam was one of priority projects that would be provided with resources.
"Support towards construction works at Kunzvi Dam during the first six months amounted to ZiG36,9 million and is expected to address water supply challenges for the City of Harare upon completion.
"The project scope includes the construction of a 2 600m zoned earth fill embankment with a height of 48.2m, as well as conveyance system. Significant progress has been achieved with the excavation of main dam currently at 60 percent completion, while the placement of embankment at the main dam stands at 45 percent," said Prof Ncube.
The US$109 million Kunzvi Dam on the confluence of the Nora and Nyaguwe rivers in Goromonzi district is the first Harare water supply reservoir not on the Manyame River and is on the opposite side of the metropolitan area from Morton Jaffray Water Works and Lakes Chivero and Manyame.
The dam, being constructed by Makomo Engineering (formerly Nanchang Engineering), will serve the higher altitude areas furthest from the waterworks in north-east and eastern Harare, Chitungwiza and Ruwa.
A lot of the existing bulk water infrastructure that the three towns should be using is already in place. Kunzvi Dam was planned decades ago but was continually postponed, mainly over financing and a false belief that the existing water sources were adequate.
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Significant progress has been recorded in the construction during the last year as the Second Republic fulfills its promises towards turning the country into an upper middle-income economy by 2030 and in line with the National Development Strategy 1 and leaving no place behind in development.
Prof Ncube said to enhance water supply and irrigation in Matabeleland region, Government was constructing Gwayi-Shangani dam, with a capacity of 634 million cubic meters. Once completed, the project will benefit the surrounding communities and generate power through a mini-hydro power plant.
"Progress in the construction of Gwayi-Shangani dam has reached a height of 39m. Concrete filling to date stands at 137 531.01m3, 50 percent of the overall concrete needed, while 49m of outlet pipe has been installed. Focus during the second half of 2024, will be on ensuring timely completion of the project," he said.
"Seven rural water supply schemes namely Sessane, Nyagire, Makwe, Centenary, Bomba, Lusulu, and Tengwe are being developed. Additionally, eight water supply stations namely Nyanga, Inyati, Dema, Nyamandlovu, Epping Forest, Victoria Falls, Jerera and Murambinda are being rehabilitated and upgraded," he said.
