Lovemore Chikova-Development Dialogue

Combine three issues — a gigantic Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, beautiful mountain ranges and a majestic upgraded Harare-Beitbridge Road, and you have the right concoction for the development of tourism in Chivi district.

Add this to a potentially all-year round green belt aided by irrigation water from the imposing Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, then you have a perfect idea of what the district is more likely to look like in the near future.

Frowned upon with adjectives such as drought stricken, arid region, semi-arid region, dry and poverty stricken, the district is set to rise like a phoenix if the ingredients are mixed perfectly.

And this reminds me of a popular saying used in jest over the years: “Zvinhu zviedzwa chembere yakwaChivi yakabika mabwe ikamwa muto”, loosely translated as: “An elderly woman from Chivi boiled stones and drank the soup in an attempt to survive”.

Well, while this saying is usually used as a prank, what lies beneath the bare meaning is profound.

The deeper meaning of this saying points to the innovativeness of the elderly women, or rather her attempt at innovation.

It is such an eagerness to innovate that can help turn Chivi into a transformed district, especially using the abundant tourism enablers in the district.

Mountain ranges 

Beautiful mountain ranges litter Chivi district, some stretching for several kilometres and cutting across the district in different directions.

But it is the area around Tugwi-Mukosi in Ngundu and the area around the site for the proposed massive Tende-Runde Dam where the mountains are concentrated.

This gives a perfect opportunity to marry these mountain ranges with the two huge water bodies to maximise on tourism.

People in Zimbabwe rarely take mountain ranges seriously, yet these have a potential to attract tourists and bring in the much needed foreign currency.

Actually, there is something called mountain tourism, described by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation as “tourism activity which takes place in a defined and limited geographical space such as hills or mountains with distinctive characteristics and attributes that are inherent to a specific landscape, topography, climate, biodiversity (flora and fauna) and local community.”

Mountain tourism incorporates a wide range of outdoor leisure and sporting activities, and has been successful in many other countries.

Instead of just having mountains simply as a source of wonder and inspiration, it is time to harness their potential to stimulate economic growth by letting them compliment other economic activities.

In fact, internationally, mountains are regarded as one of the world’s important tourism destinations.

This is so because a lot of elements attract tourists to mountains including the fresh and clean air, rich biodiversity, diverse landscapes, scenic beauty, history, recreational amusement and unique culture of people living around them.

United Nations Environment Programme has interesting statistics about mountain tourism.

It states that areas with mountains attract at least 20 percent of global tourism, making them second only to coasts and islands as popular tourism destinations.

The truth is that there are a lot of people out there who cannot just resist the urge to visit mountainous areas.

For Chivi, with its mountain ranges, ways have to be devised to ensure the tourists are attracted to the area through marketing and publicity.

The advantage already is that Chivi lies near the popular Great Zimbabwe Monuments, which is regularly visited by tourists.

The strategy for a start could be to link Chivi with Great Zimbabwe and create one unique big tourist attraction haven.

The message could go like: “Come to Great Zimbabwe Monuments and have a chance to visit Chivi and its breathtaking landscapes and the giant Tugwi-Mukosi Dam area”.

Intangible tourism arising from the district’s rich cultural diversity can also be part of the marketing strategy.

The mountain ranges stretching from the area around Chibi-Turn-off through the Madzivire Communal lands up to the border with Mwenezi district at Runde Bridge can successfully be marketed to tourists.

This mountain range is complimented by yet another that cuts through Chief Nemauzhe’s area up to the Chasiyatende area where there is the confluence of Runde and Tende rivers.

It is at the confluence of Runde and Tende rivers where the giant Tende-Runde Dam is planned for construction, with the project being awarded priority status.

The dam will be two and half times bigger than Tugwi-Mukosi which is now the biggest inland water body in Zimbabwe.

Tugwi-Mukosi Dam  

This gigantic dam offers seamless opportunities for tourism in Chivi district because of the vast area it occupies and its wide catchment area.

The presence of the dam alone is enough to convince a tourist to have a look at the concrete-face rock-fill dam wall.

The dam wall is 90,3 metres tall and creates a 1,8 billion cubic metres reservoir.

Government recently came up with the tourism development plan for the dam, which encompasses designation of areas where lodges and hotels will be sited.

The plan includes demarcation of the proposed game park in the Tugwi-Mukosi buffer zone, with the tourism package expected to make the dam one of the best tourist destinations in the country.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority plans establishing the national park around the dam, as one of the major projects under the tourism development plan.

Other tourism adventures abound at Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, with a potential to attract tourists from far flung areas.

The scenic topography in the dam’s immediate environment linked to the mountain ranges in the area makes it ideal for building of lodges and hotels.

Other opportunities being explored by Government in line with the development of tourism at the dam include recreational shipping and opening of a dry harbour, building navigation masts and development of a mini-hydro power plant.

Tourism development at Tugwi-Mukosi means the face of the nearby 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.

When fully developed, tourists can enjoy canoeing, water sports, house boats and amusement parks at the dam which hosts 10 islands, while investors can invest in cable cars, agro-tourism and harbours

There is no doubt that Tugwi-Mukosi offers diversity to the tourism package not only in Chivi, but in Masvingo province as a whole. Tourism activities are expected to increase in the near future, as the number of visitors to the biggest inland dam increase.

All these activities are expected to benefit people from Masvingo in general and those from Chivi district in particular as they reap benefits from tourism activities.

There will be revival of several now dormant industries like curios, which used to dominate the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway, especially around the Sese, Maringire and Ngundu areas.

Harare-Beitbridge Highway 

The on-going upgrade of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway is a good compliment for the tourism boon that is expected in Chivi district.

Tourists are usually attracted to certain areas after first studying how they will be able to comfortably reach there.

This puts the upgraded Harare-Beitbridge Highway, which cuts through Chivi district, into perspective as it makes it easy for tourists to travel to areas like Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, which runs parallel to the highway.

The highway is being widened from seven metres to 12,5 metres, with clearly marked lanes that make driving an enjoyable experience.

It is one of the biggest infrastructural projects being undertaken by President Mnangagwa’s administration under the New Dispensation and as part of the desire to attain Vision 2030 of an upper middle income economy.

The upgrading of the road means easy travel by tourists coming from South Africa and those from Harare who would have used air transport to reach Zimbabwe.

The highway is being complimented by the development of modern towns along the road.

Government has already gazetted the establishment of a smart city at Chibi Turn-off on Tugwi-Mukosi Dam’s catchment area.

Chivi Rural District Council is already priming to turn Ngundu Business Centre into a major town to accommodate the huge interest expected to accompany the development of tourism facilities at Tugwi-Mukosi.

The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority should come in with irrigation schemes around the dam area to benefit the locals.