Senior Business Reporter
President Mnangagwa has said despite the negative effects of climate change that are worsening and intensifying water-related disasters, creating complex challenges and threatening lives and livelihoods, particularly for the vulnerable globally, Zimbabwe has developed various strategies to ensure water availability and build resilient agricultural systems.
The strategies have now enabled the country to become food secure again after decades of perennial food insecurity.
This week, Zimbabwe joined the global community to mark the United National Water Conference to take stock and assess progress in the implementation of agreed targets for the Water Decade, specifically Sustainable Development Goal 6.
President Mnangagwa
It was the first UN Water Conference in almost five decades. The first water conference was in Argentina in 1977.
Speaking on behalf of President Mnangagwa during the United Nations 2023 Water conference in New York on Wednesday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka said the country values the importance of water availability and its a key Constitutional right for every citizen.
Additionally, he said water is an economic enabler for development in line with the country’s vision of becoming a “prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society by 2030.”
However, globally the increasing water demand due to rapid population growth, increased urbanisation, and increasing water needs for agriculture, industry, commerce and energy exacerbate an already dire situation.
“Climate change is worsening and intensifying water-related disasters, creating complex challenges and threatening lives and livelihoods, particularly for the vulnerable.
“Over the past two decades, climate-related disasters have intensified, floods and cyclones have increased affecting clean water availability and food and nutrition security and hydropower generation and derailing efforts around building sustainable and resilient communities and societies,” said Minister Masuka.
He said in response, the Government has developed various strategies to ensure water availability and build resilient agricultural systems.
“Our Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Plan targets to increase dam construction and area under irrigation by over 60 percent by 2025 in addition to adopting climate-proofed intensive conservation agriculture at the smallholder level.
“These strategies have now enabled Zimbabwe to become food secure again after decades of perennial food insecurity. This includes self-sufficiency in maize and wheat, the major staples.”
Dr Masuka said the intricate water-food-energy-environment nexus has seen Zimbabwe embarking on an ambitious water harnessing programme and is constructing 12 major dam projects harnessing 1,9 billion megalitres to deliver hydro-electricity, harnessed potable water supply, fisheries and irrigation water for rural and urban development.
Accelerated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development Plan
Added to that the Government has launched a transformational borehole drilling programme whose objective is to drill a borehole in each of the country’s 35 000 villages and 9 600 rural schools.
“This will ensure that women and girls do not walk long distances to fetch water,” said Minister Masuka.
On the sanitation and hygiene front, Zimbabwe is implementing a community/demand led sanitation and hygiene promotion campaign.
“Resultantly, 77,8 percent of the population have access to clean water and 63,8 percent have access to sanitation services. We aim to accelerate universal access to WASH services and our Government continues to mobilise internal resources towards the implementation of these critical projects,” said Dr Masuka.
To consolidate the gains achieved at national level, Dr Masuka said the country requires urgent investment in dam construction, irrigation development, underground water abstraction and increased investments in rural and urban water supply as well as investments in innovation.
“With the requisite political will, increased investments and better collaboration, we indeed can generate the required momentum to achieve the SDG6 targets and much more,” said Minister Masuka.