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Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]

GOVERNMENT has begun consultation meetings with communities likely to be affected by the Lake Gwayi-Shangani project which is expected to transform lives in Matabeleland region by providing water for both domestic and irrigation.

The lake will provide a permanent solution to Bulawayo’s water crisis while creating a greenbelt in Matabeleland North with 10 000 hectares of land earmarked for irrigation.

A total of 8 400 ha will be reserved for commercial farming while Government will implement the Arda Vision 2030 accelerator model on 1 600 ha to benefit communities under the rural industrialisation. 

Government, under the rural industrialisation, is pushing for value addition and beneficiation of farmers’ produce so that they derive maximum benefits from their farming business.

Government is also targeting to establish eco-tourism facilities, fisheries, a mini-hydro power station at the lake.

Lake Gwayi-Shangani is one of the signature projects being implemented by the Second Republic to transform people’s lives.

Significant progress has been made in the construction of the dam including preliminary works on the construction of a hydro-power station hence the need to engage the communities likely to be affected by this massive project.

Government has therefore deployed a provincial technical taskforce on Lake Gwayi-Shangani to engage communities in Lupane, Binga and Hwange districts likely to be affected by the dam and the pipeline from the dam to Bulawayo.

The taskforce team leader Engineer Charles Makhula yesterday met stakeholders in Lupane to discuss how the dam is likely to affect some communities.

Various Government departments outlined their involvement on the project and how it will impact communities.

It was observed that Lupane will be one of the districts that will be seriously affected by the project as 725 families to be displaced by the dam in the Lubimbi area in Binga District will be relocated to Lupane.

Some A2 farmers in the district are also expected to lose part of their land as a result of the project.

Eng Makhula said while the project will displace some families, many of them will, however, benefit immensely from guaranteed water for both domestic and irrigation purposes.

He said families should start planning how they can take advantage of opportunities to be availed by the completion of the dam project. 

“We are on a consultative process on how Lake Gwayi- Shangani will impact on communities. The vision is to ensure that the engagements are multifaceted benefiting all people likely to be affected We want to know if all the opportunities to be availed will benefit all the people,” said Eng Makhula.

He said the objective is to ensure all communities are engaged so that there is a shared vision regarding the way forward.

Eng Makhula said they noted that        some communities lacked information regarding the impact of the project hence the decision to be on the ground to share information. 

“If you were following the events of this project in 2021 and 2022, you’ll realise that lack of engagements caused a lot of conflict which affected implementation of the project. What was advised from the top was not the expectations of the community,” he said.

Eng Makhula said the people and their local leadership should have a shared vision regarding what they intend to achieve by 2030.

He said the expectation is that everyone should know how they will benefit from the massive project.

 “It was an issue of who gets accommodated where and who takes part. After this engagement process, we want to have a document that speaks to all items and branches of Gwayi-Shangani dam, streamline all the stakeholders so that when the cake is being shared, you know who is critical,” he said.

Kusile Rural District Council chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Hadebe welcomed the consultation meetings, saying they will help address all critical issues regarding the implementation of the project. 

He said Kusile RDC is expected to  provide services to the beneficiaries of the project as well as those who would be displaced.

“We also need to plan on their settlements and the services that they need. There is also going to be irrigation blocks and we also need to plan for them including roads among other social amenities,” said Mr Hadebe.

He said the project will result in the growth of the district’s gross domestic product. Acting Chief Mabhikwa said the consultation meetings are essential as they will address some of the problems raised by communities.

“Initially the project was being implemented from top to bottom. Even local Government departments were in the dark on what was happening. We had to call for a meeting with the President to address our concerns, and this is how we got here. We hope our resolutions will be adopted going forward,” he said.

Some of the community participants expressed concerns that they only heard through the grapevine that they were going to lose land to pave way for the project. Others said they had been told that some land had been allocated to individuals who are not part of the local communities.

The participants said there is a need for further consultations with structures at grassroot level.

Eng Makhula assured the participants that all efforts will be made to ensure all communities are engaged during the consulations so that there is an appreciation and understanding of individuals’ roles during the implementation of the massive project meant to transform the lives of people in Matabeleland region and beyond. —@nqotshili