‘…no district will brag about failure to crop’
Staff Reporter
There is excitement among the people of Rushinga over the construction of Semwa Dam.
One gets the sense that the people believe the Government led by President Mnangagwa has remembered them after several difficult years characterised by poor harvests and lack of clean drinking water.
President Mnangagwa’s developmental mantra is “leaving no one and no place behind”, and the people of Rushinga say the construction of Semwa Dam will bring massive developments into their area and improve the living standards of many.
During its construction, Semwa Dam will create hundreds of jobs for locals and leave them upskilled for future such projects.
Already, 130 people have been employed at the project and more opportunities are expected as works are scaled up.
On completion, the dam is expected to support hydroelectricity generation of up to 9,6MW, provide irrigation water for 12 000 hectares of land, and provide clean drinking water to residents of Rushinga Growth Point.
All the benefits will automatically uplift the living standards of the people of Rushinga, and in that way, play a significant part in the attainment of Vision 2030 of an upper middle-income economy.
Semwa Dam will have a capacity of 260 million cubic metres and will alleviate poverty in the area.
It is being constructed along Ruya River.
At the moment, works entail stockpiling of river sand, and drilling and blasting of rocks for concrete aggregate.
The quarry and concrete crusher are now fully established and concrete aggregates are already being crushed and stockpiled while the concrete batch plant is fully installed and ready for use.
In separate interviews, some people in Rushinga said they cannot wait for Semwa Dam to be completed and start deriving benefits that come with it.
For others, they want to be employed during the construction process and then see how they can benefit again after the construction.
Ms Maggie Motsi from Munyeperi Village said: “I am happy with the construction of Semwa Dam. We are now going to be able to get water, our livestock also had challenges getting water to drink and now, the livestock will easily get water. “The water we have been drinking is unsafe and once Semwa Dam is completed, we will get clean water.
“This place is too hot and if we can get a dam, this will assist us greatly.”
Mr Garikai Chimuramba from Nyandoro Village, also in Rushinga, praised President Mnangagwa for the project.
“We thank President ED Mnangagwa for the construction of Semwa Dam. Our young people will get jobs at the construction site and can also venture into fisheries on completion of the dam so that they earn a living.
“The youths also can benefit from future projects that will come when construction has been completed. Even some elderly people like me, who can still work for themselves, will also benefit from this dam.
“So, I just want to thank President Mnangagwa for the construction of this dam,” said Mr Chimuramba.
Semwa Dam becomes the latest mega dam constructed and/ or completed by the Second Republic since 2018.
Zinwa resident engineer, Takudzwa Masvinyangwa, said many benefits would be derived from Semwa Dam including irrigation and hydroelectricity generation.
Hydroelectricity is one of the clean energies that world leaders agreed to accelerate during the United Nations Climate Conference held in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021, to avert the impact of climate change.
Eng Masvinyangwa said 5 000 hectares of land have already been identified for irrigation.
“There will also be a mini-hydro project, fisheries, aqua-culture within the dam and potable water supply,” he said.
“Water will also be pumped to Rushinga to service the area that includes the growth point.”
Just like at Lake Gwayi-Shangani where some about 48 families have been affected by the construction project and will have to be relocated, 141 families will also be relocated in Rushinga to allow for Semwa Dam construction.
Eng Masvinyangwa said 15 families have since been relocated since they are too close to the dam site.
“Resettlement of other families that are upstream or within the basement is still ongoing,” he said.
A representative of the contractor, Makomo Engineering, Mr Liangming Jin said they “will continue collaborating with the Government to ensure that the project is completed”.
The construction of Semwa Dam comes after the construction of many others such as Muchekeranwa, Chivhu and Kunzvi dams in Mashonaland East Province, Marovanyati Dam in Manicaland Province, Vungu Dam in the Midlands Province and Lake Gwayi-Shangani in Mabale, Matabeleland North.
Muchekeranwa Dam is already supporting irrigation agriculture.
Works at Kunzvi Dam are underway in Goromonzi and on completion, it is expected to address water challenges in Ruwa, Chitungwiza and Harare’s eastern suburbs such as the perennially dry Mandara and Mabvuku.
Lake Gwayi-Shangani is a game-changing intervention by the Second Republic aimed at eliminating water challenges in Bulawayo.
So far, over 36 metres of the targeted 72 metres have been completed.
Water from the lake will also support irrigation schemes along the 252km way from Gwayi, as President Mnangagwa’s Government moves to ensure no district continues to brag that it cannot embark on meaningful agriculture because of lack of water.
The construction of dams is being done in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) that emphasises infrastructure development.
