Lovemore Chikova-Development Dialogue

The completion of the Tugwi-Mukosi development master plan kicks off real work around the water reservoir, with the aim of fully exploiting the water reservoir’s economic potential.

It will be like the re-awakening of a sleeping giant, as the implementation of the development master plan takes effect.

The development master plan had been talked about for a long time, but the setting in of the New Dispensation saw a real push by President Mnangagwa’s administration to ensure it is completed.

A development master plan holds back all work for a project because business has to be done in a systematic and organised way that ensures all stakeholders benefit.

The master plan will designate land use pattern in and around the dam, including demarcation of the exact areas earmarked for irrigation and other projects. A milestone was thus reached with the announcement last week that the long-awaited development master plan for Tugwi-Mukosi Dam in Chivi South, Masvingo, is now complete and will soon be tabled in Cabinet.

This came soon after the Government gazetted the Regional Town and Country Planning (Tugwi Mukosi Dam and Environs Combination Master Plan Authority) Notice, 2021.

The notice outlines institutions that are empowered to work together in implementing the Tugwi-Mukosi development master plan.

The institutions are the Chivi Rural District Council, Masvingo Rural District Council, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Environmental Management Agency, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Zimbabwe Council for Tourism.

From the above institutions, the idea of businesses and land use expected to be undertaken around Tugwi-Mukosi Dam becomes clear, and it is now up to authorities to expedite work for the benefit of the country.

Chivi and Masvingo rural district councils come in as the custodians of the giant dam which is located at the confluence of Tugwi River, which flows from Chivi and Mukosi River, which flows from Masvingo. The two rural district councils will be responsible for various projects that are likely to sprout at the dam.

Projects to be undertaken around the dam are expected to transform the area and foster reliable access to water for communities where the impact of climate change is being intensely felt.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority manages the wildlife resources for the country and it is envisaged that fisheries and a national wildlife park will be set up at the dam.

The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, as its name indicates, will be involved in projects cutting across the whole spectrum of the development master plan.

The establishment of irrigation schemes around the massive dam is one of the major expectations, and the ministry will play a major role in ensuring that is successful.

The reservoir, with a full capacity of 1,8 billion cubic meters, was initially billed to irrigate around 25 000 hectares, but advances in irrigation technology over the years have pushed estimates for irrigable land to over 40 000ha.

This will result in a greenbelt in the catchment area of the dam, establishing an irrigation hub courtesy of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam irrigation water. The involvement of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and Zimbabwe Council for Tourism indicates an intention to make Tugwi-Mukosi Dam a tourism hub, with a number of activities being initiated to attract tourists. Apart from water activities that tourists can take advantage of, the scenery around Tugwi-Mukosi Dam has the potential to attract tourists if the place is marketed accordingly.

The beautiful mountainous terrain that stretches from just before the dam through Ngundu to the area around Lundi River, running for about 20 kilometres, can be exploited to become a tourism hub, with various activities being initiated to increase the tourists’ appetite.

The face of Ngundu business centre is bound to change dramatically, as the place has potential to become a town, with its location right on the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway increasing the stakes. 

Other business activities that can be undertaken in relation to Tugwi-Mukosi Dam include hotels and lodges, canoeing, house boats, touring firms and amusement parks. 

The development and initiating of activities around Tugwi-Mukosi will be in line with the Second Republic’s ambition to achieve an upper middle income economy by 2030 under Vision 2030.

It had become clear that full exploitation of the country’s largest inland water body, which was commissioned in 2017, was being hamstrung by delays in crafting the development master plan.

Until now, the major beneficiaries of water from the dam have been the Lowveld sugar estates, whose irrigation potential has been boosted by the availability of the extra water.

More water is expected to be pumped to Mwenezi when the development of Kilimanjaro sugarcane estates is finalised.

While the development master plan is important to ensure strategic planning to avoid haphazard settlements, it is equally important that people surrounding the water resource start driving the benefits.

This leaves the institutions tasked with implementing the development master plan with a huge responsibility to ensure that whatever decisions they make benefit the country without leaving out the local communities.

The vast swathes of arable land in the Madzivire and Shindi communal lands surrounding the dam should start being prepared for irrigation purposes.

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