President Mugabe
From George Maponga in Masvingo
THE Government is working flat out to ensure the country produces enough power to meet domestic demand with 17 mini-hydro power stations earmarked for dams throughout the country.
President Mugabe last week said besides installing a mini-hydro power station at Tokwe-Mukosi dam, Government was looking for investors to build 17 more mini-hydro power stations around Zimbabwe. The Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces was speaking at the commissioning of the 1,8 billion cubic metres Tokwe-Mukosi dam last Thursday.
Government wants to install a 15 megawatt mini-hydro power station at Tokwe-Mukosi dam and the Italian contractor at the reservoir has already started building a power house where the power plant will be housed.
The project is expected to cost $20 million and will produce enough power to light up the whole of Masvingo province.
Addressing thousands of people gathered to witness the landmark commissioning of Tokwe-Mukosi dam last week, President Mugabe said the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate was in the process of identifying potential investors to set up the mini-hydro power plants.
He said Government had made it a policy for all new dams to be able to generate power.
‘’Tokwe-Mukosi dam will have a hydro-electricity plant capable of producing 15 megawatts of power. The inclusion of the plant follows a deliberate policy framework by Government for every new dam to have provision for the generation of hydro-electricity as we seek to offset the country’s power deficit and an over-reliance on power imports,’’ he said.
“The responsible ministry (Environment, Water and Climate) through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has already commenced the process of identifying potential investors for the mini-hydro electric plant here and on 17 other dams across the country.’’
Besides generating power, Tokwe-Mukosi dam also offers opportunities for tourism with vast tracts of land in Chivi, Mwenezi, Chiredzi and Matibi 2 being targeted for large-scale irrigation development because of the areas’ flat and rich soils.
With southern parts of Masvingo transformed into a permanent greenbelt it is hoped that jobs will be created after the anticipated influx of food processing companies in the Lowveld. A $400 million ethanol plant is planned at Naunetsi Ranch thanks to Tokwe-Mukosi Dam water.
A conurbation stretching from Chiredzi to Mwenezi is envisaged once Tokwe-Mukosi reaches its full irrigation potential while sugar cane production in the Lowveld is expected to shoot up by 15 percent catapulting Zimbabwe into a major sugar-producing giant in the region.
Besides tourism opportunities at the scenic Tokwe-Mukosi dam that is tucked in a mountainous landscape suitable for casinos and hotels, opportunities are abound for a vibrant fisheries industry while a planned mega-national park around the reserviour will widen the tourism spectacle.
Zimbabwe is battling a debilitating power crisis blamed on surging demand and Government is working on expanding power output at the Hwange Power Station while work on expanding output at Kariba Dam is almost complete.