Stalled Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road project gets funding

 Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Felix Mhona has admitted that the critical rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road has stalled due to severe funding constraints and contractor capacity issues, but promised a "massive" remobilisation of workers starting this August.

The minister’s admission came during a heated National Assembly Q&A session on Wednesday, following a sharp rebuke from Lupane East legislator Siphathisiwe Machangu, who described the 440km highway as a scene of "complete abandonment".

Machangu challenged the government’s policy on allowing contractors to desert projects, leaving vital infrastructure in a dangerous and deteriorated state.

She painted a bleak picture of the current situation on the ground, noting that between Bulawayo and Lupane, and further through Jotsholo towards Hwange, not a single construction vehicle is in sight.

"The roads are just empty," Machangu told the House, demanding a clear timeline for when the "reconstruction" would resume.

In a frank response, Mhona conceded that the project had indeed "stalled". He attributed the delays to a combination of variables, including "delays in payment" from the treasury and some contractors who overrepresented their "capacity" to do the work.

He noted that in the past, some contractors anticipated upfront deposits before disappearing, though the government now requires a demonstration of capacity first.

The minister revealed a startling fiscal reality. His ministry was allocated the equivalent of only US$150 million for road projects across the entire country for the current year.

"You are the owners of the place, this august House," Mhona told the MPs. "You gave us US150 million and if we just apply it to that road [Bulawayo-Victoria Falls], it is inadequate."

Despite the budgetary shortfall, Mhona insisted the government is now "thinking outside the box" by pursuing public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements and loan facilities. He informed the House that a 750km stretch—originally starting from Beitbridge—was initially under a PPP, but the government had to intervene on the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls section specifically because it was in such a "sorry state."

To address the 440km stretch, the  ministry has engaged eight contractors, each assigned a 50km section.

While Machangu reported seeing no activity, the minister argued that some work might be hidden by detours "divorced from the main road."  He claimed that nine kilometres of the road were recently opened to traffic two and a half weeks ago.

In a significant commitment to Matabeleland North residents and the tourism sector, Mhona announced that a new infrastructure framework has been agreed upon between the Transport and Finance ministries to ensure contractors are paid.

"I want to say to Hon. Machangu, yes, watch the space and as we move towards August, you will see massive rehabilitation again," Mhona promised.

"Those contractors will be mobilised again to their various sections... you will see an accelerated pace going forward."

The state of the road remains a point of high anxiety for regional leaders. Hwange MP Daniel Bonda also weighed in, urging the ministry to ensure that even while working on specific sections, contractors must maintain detours that have become "no longer trafficable."

Mhona confirmed that current contracts now mandate routine maintenance of entire sections, including detours, to keep traffic flowing.

Source: Stalled Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road project gets funding (02/08/26)

Bulawayo -Victoria Falls road rehabilitation works progressing well

 THE rehabilitation of the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls Road is progressing, with contractors on the ground and civil works on-going.

In line with the government’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind, the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls road remains one of the high priority infrastructure projects, wholly funded by the Treasury.

On Tuesday, the ZBC News crew toured sections of the road and witnessed on-going compacting works in the Hwange – South mining area, among other road works.

The motoring public has expressed appreciation for the progress being made.

“This is exciting for us, especially those of us from Mozambique who love driving to Victoria Falls. The travel time is now shorter. We thank the Government of Zimbabwe for this initiative,” said a motorist.

“We will be travelling smoothly, and this will reduce operational costs. We will no longer be buying spare parts frequently,” added another.

The government says the entire road upgrade is expected to be completed by mid-2026.

“I am happy that the strategy we adopted in the ministry was to divide the entire 440 kilometres, focusing mainly between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls, where each contractor is responsible for about 51 kilometres. We deployed the first five contractors who began working on the detours, and an additional three contractors have since joined. This means eight contractors are now working on the entire stretch. This rehabilitation is crucial because the road is a gateway to the tourist hub of our country, Victoria Falls,” said the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Honourable Felix Mhona.

Some sections of the road have since been completed and opened to traffic.

The Bulawayo–Victoria Falls road is a vital link in the North–South Corridor, connecting South Africa through the Beitbridge border post with Zambia via Victoria Falls and Kazungula.

Source: Bulawayo -Victoria Falls road rehabilitation works progressing well (17/11/2025)

Mnangagwa Administration Caught In Embarrassing Lie Over Victoria Falls Road Project

 In an embarrassing about-face, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has publicly retracted a false claim that road construction contractors were already on site for the much-anticipated Victoria Falls project. The Ministry has since admitted that the tender process is still underway and no contractors have been deployed.

The blunder, disseminated via the Ministry’s official Twitter account on April 29 at 9:18 a.m., cited a state media report titled “Victoria Falls contractors on site” — a claim that turned out to be inaccurate. After facing swift backlash, the Ministry issued a formal apology and explanation, attributing the misinformation to a breach of internal protocol.

In its public statement, the Ministry wrote:

“The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development wishes to unreservedly apologise to members of the public and all its stakeholders for posting a twitter message containing wrong information on 29 April 2025 at 0918 Hours.”

The Ministry explained that the false information had been posted without proper verification from technical officials:

“One of the officers assigned the duty to manage the Ministry’s twitter handle conceded and acknowledged that she breached the internal Standard Operating Procedures of information verification,” the statement read.

Setting the record straight, the Ministry clarified the actual status of the project:

“The tender which was issued on 17 April 2025 closed on 29 April 2025 at 1100 Hours. After the closure of the bidding period, an evaluation committee will sit, whereupon the outcome will be sent to the Special Procurement Oversight Committee for oversight of the tender process before awarding the same to successful bidders.”

Permanent Secretary Eng. P.J. Makumbe, who signed off on the statement, reinforced the Ministry’s commitment to accurate public communication:

“The Ministry remains committed to the need for sharing correct information to members of the public.”

The incident has reignited criticism of the government’s infrastructure communication strategies, with observers raising concerns about professionalism and transparency within key departments.

Source: Mnangagwa Administration Caught In Embarrassing Lie Over Victoria Falls Road Project (01/05/25)

Zimbabwe forced to deny comical pothole photo was shot along Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road

HARARE – The government was on Monday forced to deny claims a viral image of three people believed to be tourists posing for a photo while sitting inside a huge pothole was taken along the heavily damaged Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway.

The road, which links the rest of the country to the iconic Victoria Falls, has seen years of neglect by government leading to huge craters developing on the tired infrastructure.

Calls to have the road restored to its former usable state have seemed to go unheeded by authorities who have taken their time to make the necessary repairs.

Perhaps to illustrate the extent of the damage, three cheeky tourists took an amusing image while seated snugly inside a giant crater, forcing an embarrassed government into denial after the image went viral on social media.

In a statement, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development denied the image was taken along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway.

“It has come to our attention that a social media post is circulating, showing 3 people posing in a pothole on a road claimed to be part of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway,” said the ministry.

“While we acknowledge that certain sections of the highway are in dire need of rehabilitation, the images in the post do not correspond to any section of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway.

“The sections requiring urgent attention are currently being addressed through a collaborative effort between the Department of Roads and Bitumen World. Work is already underway, with teams camped in Hwange, Halfway, and Insiza to ensure the road is rehabilitated efficiently.”

The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road also links the rest of the country to the touristy Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe’s biggest wildlife habitat.

It is regarded a major source of wealth for a country heavily dependent on tourism.

Source: Zimbabwe forced to deny comical pothole photo was shot along Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road (11/03/25). 

Government in another promise to fix Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway

AFTER numerous failed promises, the government has vowed to reconstruct the unnavigable Bulawayo – Victoria Falls highway, which has become a death trap for motorists.

Government has been making promises to address the road which has become difficult to navigate due to the potholes which have been a cause for many accidents.

Earlier this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, promised to address the road channel to the resort town with nothing tangible having materialised.

During the road rehabilitation programme which was carried out mid-year ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit, the major highway among others in Matabeleland region, was left behind.

Responding to questions in the Senate Thursday, the Minister of Transport and lnfrastructure Development, Felix Mhona said government will address the road situation.

“I have traversed on most of the roads that he has mentioned. If you would relate, we were doing some sections, especially the Tsholotsho-Kezi road where we have done 5km which to me is inadequate given the length of the road.

‘We need to start from somewhere. Let me also acknowledge that in terms of road infrastructure, we have a road network close to 90 000km. Some areas were marginalised and I want to hasten to acknowledge that for years, our roads were neglected, not only the city roads but even rural roads.

“Some of our roads especially those going to places of our revolutionary icons, the roads were neglected. Alas, with the advent to the Second Republic, we have taken those roads on our radar,” said Mhona.

“Of great importance is the Victoria Falls road that the Senator has talked about, where we are going to start doing the road from Beitbridge to Bulawayo then to Victoria Falls.

“You will see us moving towards those roads and like the approach that we have agreed, not particularly doing 5km, but you will see us extending the works to quite a number of kilometres.”

Source: Government in another promise to fix Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway (11/09/24)

Zambezi project: Only permanent solution to Bulawayo water woes

 BY SILAS NKALA

MORE than a century ago in 1912, people of Matabeleland were promised that they will draw water from the Zambezi River, through the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP).

Every year, they have been hoping that this massive project, which will draw water from Gwayi-Shangani Dam will materialise.

But it has proved to be just a hoax as Matabeleland and Bulawayo continue to suffer perennial water shortages. The project was mooted more than a hundred years ago during the colonial era. It was later to be adopted by the Zanu government after independence in 1980.

Despite the hope that this water project was going to be the panacea to the Matabeleland and Bulawayo perennial water problems, the water situation in the region has further worsened and is exacerbated by an increase in population in the region.

Bulawayo Water Action group secretary Khumbulani Maphosa, who is also the co-ordinator for the Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights, blamed the failure to complete the water project on what he termed as “hydro-politics”.

Maphosa said in 1912, the total cost of the project was estimated at 60 000 pounds only. It was expensive then.

“Twenty years later, then Rhodesian Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins said the country couldn’t afford the 60 000 pounds needed for the project.

“Similar cost justification was given in the 1950s by Prime Minister Edgar Whitehead when 60 000 pounds was then proposed cost for the project,” Maphosa said.

“Fast track it to now, we are told of progress being stalled due to lack of funding, or that the contractor has downed tools due to lack of funding,” he said.

Maphosa opines that the issue of funding is now being used as a scapegoat for failure to implement the project.

He said there was no excuse for failing to implement the MZWP because government had ensured that similar water projects like Tugwi-Mukosi were fully implemented and well-funded.

Maphosa said government was also showing seriousness in funding the construction of the new Parliament Building at a cost of US$140 million, which means that the issue is about priorities and the MZWP is not among top priority projects.

In his 2021 National Budget statement, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube allocated $4,5 billion towards the Gwayi-Shangani Dam for its completion.

But Maphosa said the money would be affected by inflation, as well as Treasury’s failure to disburse the financial allocations on time, and lack of transparency in terms of disclosure of the final cost of the project.

He said the water shortages in Matabeleland and Bulawayo were now a human rights issue.

“The government needs to be held accountable both locally and internationally because the realisation and fulfilment of the right to water (for potable and development use) is not only guaranteed in the Constitution of Zimbabwe but also in international laws which Zimbabwe is signatory to.

Bulawayo and Matabeleland (like the rest of Zimbabwe) have a water crisis because a serious leadership crisis is manifesting itself in water shortages.”

The human rights defender also decried the fact that people are made to pay for water from estimated bills, which he described as “robbing citizens of their hard-earned money”.

He said there was no reason why government should fail to ensure the completion of MZWP because one of Zimbabwe’s neighbours — Botswana completed a 450-kilometre Zambezi water pipeline four years ago, and was in the process of completing another 100-kilometre pipeline.

“Namibia, Egypt and Botswana are all located in desert areas but they are able to provide their citizens with water. That is a sign of good leadership. Ours is a leadership crisis because the Victoria Falls is on the Zambezi River, but the country suffers from water problems. It is a leadership problem,” he said.

Maphosa said the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) should be disbanded as it was a failed entity which was wasting the country’s resources.

“We also need to build the capacity of residents to force their elected officials to hold the executive to account over water issues. As long as residents are not holding the government accountable, there won’t be any progress. Right now we are told that $4,5 billion has been allocated for Gwayi-Shangani dam.

“We need our councillors and MPs to establish whether it is enough, how much will be disbursed and when, as well as the project completion timelines.”

He said civil society, elected representatives and citizens were to blame for failing to demand water rights.

“Civic society and the media as the fourth estate have failed to hold politicians and government accountable. As part of agenda setting, they need to galvanise the residents to non-violently demand that this project be prioritised and completed,” he said, adding that the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project was a national priority.

National Consumer Rights Association (Nacora) advisor Effie Ncube said the only reason why the MZWP had not been implemented was to ensure the Matabeleland region remained marginalised.

“They know that without water Matabeleland will forever remain poor and they want it that way. Remember water is not only essential for the day-to-day lives of the people but it is also a key driver of economic development. “There is no meaningful economic activity that can take place without adequate water supply. Very little resources have been channelled towards the start and completion of the project. It is all talk, yet there is no budgetary action.

“The little that has been directed to the project is only enough for a few boreholes, not a project of the size and complexity that the Zambezi Water Project is,” Ncube said.

He said the water problems in Matabeleland and Bulawayo would result in food insecurity, lack of jobs and poverty, and diseases such as cholera and dysentery.

Ncube said dealing with pandemics like COVID-19 would be impossible without water.

“Zanu PF doesn’t care and will never care. Therefore, if people want to see the Zambezi Water Project coming to fruition they must vote Zanu PF out of power,” he said.

Ncube said the water pipes were also too old, and needed refurbishment, adding that this requires political will.

“We need to put aside tens or hundreds of millions of US dollars every financial year, and to ensure we have the right people winning the tenders, not the usual political crooks that are milking the country dry.”

The consumer rights activist said at its completion, the Zambezi Water Project should have canals and pipelines connecting Binga and even Beitbridge.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister Richard Moyo, who is also the Zanu PF provincial chairman, dismissed the claims that government was to blame for the project delays.

He claimed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new dispensation constructed the Gwayi-Shangani Dam to 40% completion a few years after coming into power.

“Remember that the Zambezi Water Project was started over one hundred years ago, but also take note that the first brick of the project was laid by the new dispensation. Maybe the old dispensation can be blamed for the delay. We expect the project to be complete by end of this year,” Moyo said.

He said the project had been stalled by the COVID-19 lockdown regulations which forced the contractor to cease operations and go back to China.

“If not for the lockdown, they would have completed it by now.”

Moyo said government released US$58 million, $200 million and $600 million towards the construction of the project, bringing the whole funding to $800 million and US$58 million.

But Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT) chairman Richard Ndlovu said the delays in the completion of the project were due to shortage of funds.

The political leadership has realised the importance of the project to the region and the country at large in terms of the economy,” Moyo said.

“The delays might have been due to politics in the past, but now it’s beyond that. The new dispensation is committed to complete the project. Mnangagwa is a listening president. In two years time I see this project being completed,” Moyo said

In 2018, MZWT chief executive Sarah Ndhlovu revealed that US$2 billion was needed to complete the phase linking Bulawayo to the Zambezi, including the Gwayi-Shangani Dam.

The government involved MZWT in the adjudication process of appointing the contractor, China International Water and Electric (CWE), which Ndhlovu said had been on site since the inception of the project.

She said Zinwa was provided engineers, adding that the Gwayi-Shangani Dam was 30% complete.

Ndhlovu said at that time, expenditure for the project was estimated at US$10 million and it had been allocated US$23 million in the 2018 national budget.

The multi-million-dollar project is earmarked to end Bulawayo’s perennial water problems and to create a green belt in the drought-prone Matabeleland region through irrigation agriculture along the pipeline linking the dam and Bulawayo.

In March 2018, Mnangagwa pledged to do everything in his ability to ensure the Gwayi-Shangani Dam project was complete by 2019.

However, his promise never materialised.

Now it is being said that an estimated US$53 million is required to complete the Gwayi Shangani Dam project.

Last year, Bulawayo mayor Solomon Mguni said the water crisis in Bulawayo reflected the realities of a drought, adding that there should be no blame game.

He said council wrote to government asking that Bulawayo be declared a critical water shortage zone.

“This would inform our domestic and international appeal for funding in our water augmentation drive. We all await the said declaration,” Mguni said.

Development analyst Mandla Khanye said the water crisis in Matabeleland needed people across ethnic boundaries to commit themselves to ensure the project is completed.

“In the past Bulawayo has been the industrial and commercial nerve centre of the country. But that has been taken away from it. To restore that, Bulawayo needs to capture and establish a leadership with courage and commitment, so as to create conducive conditions for growth and expansion. An area crying out for attention is the development of a reliable water source for the city,” Khanye said.

He said foreign direct investment could not be possible without water.

Khanye said MZWP had the potential to change the economic dynamics in Zimbabwe by boosting the national economy.

Source: Zambezi project: Only permanent solution to Bulawayo water woes (22/01/21)

Engineer proposes alternative Zambezi water project design

Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls

A LOCAL engineering company has come up with a “smart” multi-million project design to draw raw water from the mighty Zambezi River to supply industry as well as export to neighbouring countries.

The design, named the Victoria Falls Gorges Green Power Project (VFGGPP), rides on the existing railway line and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) infrastructure, with a pipeline linking the Zambezi River Basin (ZRB) to Bulawayo-Botswana and South Africa along the railway line.

The design aims to cut the estimated $2 billion project cost by 50 percent and is a proposed alternative to the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP), which has failed to take off since it was mooted in 1912.

The long awaited water project is meant among other things, to create a green belt stretching from Matabeleland North province to Bulawayo.

NMZWP is regarded as the panacea to water problems in Matabeleland Region with Sadc countries south of the Zambezi River also looking up to the project.

SouthPole Consulting Private Limited (SC), which was a fortnight ago awarded the Presidential Award of Distinction for outstanding research in the area of Renewable Energy by the Research Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ) in respect of the project, has concluded the design.

Engineer Tendai Tidings Musasa, the brains behind the project, said the modern Smart-Water-Grid (SWG)/smart technology project will cost far less than the NMZWP, which requires about $2 billion, with the pilot stage to commence mid-year requiring only $25 million.

Eng Musasa said besides providing local industry and export with raw water, the project is an infrastructure retrofit for National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) as the pipeline will ride on already available railway equipment. He said the railway line is integral in the project as it provides readily available infrastructure needed.

“The idea came as I was pondering about how I can draw water to my farm. Seeing that I have to pump from the river then I realised this can be an alternative to NMZWP. In our design we have included the railway line because there will be need for an efficient transport system like railway to transport produce from command agriculture, for instance,” said Eng Musasa.

“The railway design matches the pipeline design as there are signal rooms, which are no longer being used and these will be used as pump houses. As engineers, it is up to us to innovate and come up with cost effective projects.

“This is why we are roping in the rail because it already has infrastructure, which means there won’t be a need for some civil works.”

Eng Musasa said the pipeline will run along the railway line to Botswana and South Africa, which in 2014 – signed a Water Commission Agreement with Zimbabwe targeting the Zambezi River Basin (ZRB) water supply projects.

“The project is basically a rail retrofit design to bring about a 21st century rail network and a Smart – Water – Grid mutual interoperability. The patented design is at least 700km railway servitude on the Victoria Falls-Bulawayo-Plumtree and Bulawayo-West Nicholson-Beitbridge rail routes assisted booster pump network, which will be an average 10km apart,” he said.

Along the pipeline farmers will be able to draw water for irrigation thereby creating a green belt. “The pilot phase of the project which is the feasibility study will start in the second quarter and this will determine the budget which we estimate to be less than $1 billion,” said Eng Musasa.

He said the concept involves planting turbines in water under the Victoria Falls Bridge, which will automatically start generating electricity to be used in powering the pipeline.

“There won’t be need for damming to produce electricity as power will be generated to a pump house. All we are doing is come up with an alternative to exploit the Zambezi Basin to develop the country and Africa,” said Eng Musasa.

Source: Engineer proposes alternative Zambezi water project design (9/3/17)

More: Slow pace of work on Zambezi water project a cause for concern (17/10/15)

Slow pace of work on Zambezi water project a cause for concern

The idea to build a pipeline from the Zambezi River to Bulawayo was first mooted in 1912 by the British colonial rulers of the then Southern Rhodesia after realising that Matabeleland region suffered persistent droughts.

The implementation of the project has been hampered by all sorts of problems since then and its becoming a reality is still a distant dream whose tangible fruits would likely be enjoyed by generations to come, not this one.

The plan to draw water from the great Zambezi, regarded as the sole and permanent solution to the region’s perennial water woes, was to construct a dam with a capacity to hold 691 million cubic metres of water and the pipeline from the Zambezi River linking the dam with Bulawayo.

As per the plan, a green belt which is 30 kilometres wide on either side of the 450km pipeline was to be created and was to see more than five million hectares being put under irrigation.

“At the rate at which that project is progressing, it is likely to take another half-a-century more for it to be reality,” said Zapu spokesperson Mr Methuseli Moyo.

He said the project had suffered from a lot of political tensions and hence progress was slow.
“We have already lost 32 years since independence, as the central Government has done nothing major to take the project forward,” said Mr Moyo.

He said the colonial governments could not be entirely blamed for the slow progression of the water project, as they thought that black people were not desperate for development.

“I think the solution to this problem is for Government to come up with a clear formula to allocate funds to regions or provinces.

“Matabeleland North is rich in hard wood, methane, coal and other resources but these have not helped the region or the project itself, but if we had regional governments, people from Victoria Falls to Beitbridge, given their wealth and water challenges, will prioritise the completion of the project,” said Mr Moyo.

When implemented in full capacity, the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP), as it has become known, could be one of the drivers of the country’s Gross Domestic Product given that it would allow for millions of hectarage to be put under cultivation and other spin-off benefits.

It is worrying to note the snail’s pace at which the project is being undertaken, given the ultimate benefits of NMZWP.

Minister of Industry and Commerce and MDC president Professor Welshman Ncube said the progress of the construction of the project was by far unacceptable even after independence.

“It is very obvious that the project has been very slow and that is why the three parties in the Government of National Unity (Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC) agreed to make it a national project because it is a very big project,” said Prof Ncube.

He said the only solution to ensure that the NMZWP was completed was for Government to take charge of the project.

“It should be treated as a national project to allow Government to allocate meaningful funding towards the project,” said Prof Ncube.

Since 1912, successive governments have failed to implement the project citing high costs but lack of political will has also been cited as one of the major stumbling blocks to the success of the project.
The project was previously being run by the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust with Dr Dumiso Dabengwa as chairman, before the Inclusive Government decided to take over.

Bulawayo United Residents’ Association (Bura) chairperson Mr Winos Dube said the water project had been negatively impacted by political squabbles and the fight for controlling the project.
“What needs to be done is for people to work together because this project, once it is complete, will benefit all Zimbabweans,” said Mr Dube.

He said unity of purpose among political players and the powers that be would be advantageous to the development of the project.

“If people unite, you will see progress in the project because when all is said and done the people need water,” said Mr Dube.

According to a plan by the Ministry of Water Resources and Development, Phase One of this project is the construction of the Gwayi Shangani Dam, Phase Two is the construction of a pipeline from Gwayi Shangani Dam to Bulawayo. Phase Three will be connecting a pipe from Zambezi River to Gwayi Shangani Dam to increase the volume of water in the Gwayi Shangani Dam to enable for the actual pushing of substantial amounts of water from Gwayi Shangani to Bulawayo and the Midlands.
Phase Four will be taking water from Bulawayo through a pipeline or canal to Beitbridge.

As per the plan there will be off-takes along the route as this pipeline travels in Matabeleland North to Bulawayo. There will be some pipes that would branch off from that main pipe to service areas such as Kadoma, Kwekwe and Gweru and there will also be some branches that will take that water to areas like Plumtree and from there it would go to Beitbridge.

Bulawayo Agenda director Mr Thabani Nyoni said the name “Matabeleland” on the project only meant that the region was the chief beneficiary, but has been used to frustrate its progress.
“The project has degenerated to a case of abandonment especially in the national budget. The project has not benefited much from the allocations,” said Mr Nyoni.

He said from the civic society point of view, Matabeleland people should not lobby for the completion of the project by themselves but all stakeholders should play a part.

Water Resources and Development Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo has in the past admitted that no government can do the project on its own, as it was a huge project.

According to Minister Nkomo, the project would require the private sector to partner Government as well as financial institutions from outside the country to chip in and assist bring the project to an end.

Source: Slow pace of work on Zambezi water project a cause for concern (16/10/15)

Zambezi water project, 100yrs still on paper

The Matabeleland Zambezi River Water Project that has been on the cards for 100 years is yet to get off the ground due to the unavailability of funding.

When complete, the water project will bring to an end Bulawayo's water challenges while creating a green irrigation belt in the region.

The project's Advisory Council Chairman, Mr Donald Khumalo expressed worry at the failure to do meaningful work but said they are in talks with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate to ensure work is done on the sites.

He also said it is pleasing to the council that the project has been given priority status in the country's economic blueprint, ZIMASSET, saying it will ensure resources are channeled towards it.

The Senior Minister of State in the President's Office, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo said the government has given the project top priority as espoused in the economic blueprint.

The project is expected to be done in three phases, starting with the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani dam, construction of a pipeline from Gwayi-Shangani to Bulawayo and some areas in Matabeleland South and North provinces, and the construction of a pipeline from Zambezi river to Gwayi-Shangani dam.

Source: Zambezi water project, 100yrs still on paper - Bulawayo24 (04-06-14)

Confusion over Old Bulawayo

Confusion reigns over the redevelopment of the Old Bulawayo Cultural Village with the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) and royal Khumalo family giving conflicting statements over the project.

Old Bulawayo was established by King Lobengula as his capital in 1870 after the death of his father King Mzilikazi in 1868. It was abandoned in 1881 due to colonial threats to his political power. In 1990, NMMZ identified the site as a suitable educational and tourist centre and through consultations with the Khumalo family it was reconstructed in 1998 as a theme park. Structures such as a wagon shed, the outer palisade, King Lobengula's palace, eight beehive huts and cattle kraal, as well as a nearby interpretive centre were constructed.

The historic site was, however, destroyed on 24 August 2010, by a fire that started five kilometres from the village. Efforts to reconstruct it have stalled with the NMMZ saying it required $50 000 to complete the project.

In an interview with Sunday News recently, NMMZ executive director, Dr Godfrey Mahachi reiterated that while they wanted to reconstruct the project, funding was a problem with no one coming forward to assist the organisation. "We have made it clear that we require $50 000 for us to reconstruct that village. We realised that we cannot rely on Government funding because they themselves are facing a liquidity crisis. While they can promise us that figure in the national budget this will only be based on the availability of these funds.

"This is the reason that we decided to take the route of trying to attract well-wishers to chip in and assist us reconstruct this village. We are mainly targeting the Matabeleland community and those people that have a direct interest in this village but unfortunately till now we have got nothing," said Dr Mahachi.

"We want at least $10 000 for us to have somewhere to start on. We cannot use our $5 000 because we will do something that is not significant. So with $10 000 I believe we can build some structures that could encourage more donors to come aboard," he said.

However, a representative of the Khumalo family, Prince Peter Zwide kaLanga Khumalo criticised the NMMZ for sidelining them and not being sincere about moves to reconstruct the site. He revealed that as the cultural custodians of the village, they were not informed about the burning down of the village and further refuted claims that anyone from Government or the NMMZ had approached them to raise funds for its reconstruction.

Source: Confusion over Old Bulawayo (Bulawayo24, 30/03/14)