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People in the Zimbabwean capital are having to drink river water. Supplies of clean water are increasingly rare, and some areas of Harare are going without supplies for weeks at a time. Health workers are concerned that the use of river water may lead to the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Local authorities say they are powerless to do anything because of rampant inflation and the country’s economic crisis. - http://www.interworldradio.net - 29/0704

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The money disappeared and was never to be recovered again and this raises speculation that that the Matabeleland Z ambezi Water Project (MZWP) will remain but a dream

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FinGaz

$41bln for water project

Njabulo Ncube Bulawayo Bureau Chief
6/19/03 2:16:35 AM (GMT +2)

AN East Asian financial institution will within a fortnight put a
fresh heart into the on-off Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project with an
injection of US$50 million (Z$41.2 billion at the ruling exchange rate) to
bank-roll the piping of water from the Zambezi River and the construction of
the Gwayi-Shangani Dam both of which have been on the cards for decades.

Officials from the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT) and
Zimbabwe-Malaysia Holdings (ZimMal) on Tuesday confirmed this development.

They said the loan facility for the long-stalled project would be
extended by the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia to Mount-Hope Services
(Private) Limited, a company specifically formed and registered by the MZWT
and (ZimMal) to drive the project. Documents seen by this newspaper show
that Mount-Hope Services was registered on January 23 2003 to clear hurdles
for the partners in the project to secure international funding.

Dumiso Dabengwa, the chairman of the MZWT board, confirmed to this
newspaper on Tuesday that they were in the cusp of sealing the deal with the
Malaysian government-owned Export-Import Bank.

He was reluctant to peel the entire wrapping shrouding the loan
facility, but however indicated that it was agreed that the funds should be
released before the end of this month.

The project, whose capital burden could not be ascertained this week,
has failed to take off despite being on the government’s development agenda
for years.

Previously, it has been throttled by red-tape and political bickering,
among other things. There has always been niggling disappointment at the
failure of the project to take off early, sparking a political storm as
Zimbabwe’s feuding politicians traded accusations and counter-accusations.

Leading politicians, including those from within the ranks of the
ruling ZANU PF from Matabeleland are known to have openly accused the
government of deliberating under-developing Matabeleland and the delayed
implementation of the on-off project seemed to give credence to their claims
and casting fresh doubts over the government’s commitment to the project.

Over the years government has done nothing to assuage the general
perception that the Matabeleland Water Project usually looms large on the
agenda mostly during election time only as a vote-catching gimmick.

Sources close to the deal with the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia on
Tuesday said that all the necessary papers to facilitate the swift release
of the funds had been signed, adding that only minor details, which they
could not specify, were still outstanding.

Efforts to reactivate the project come at a time when Zimbabwe has
been bruised by negative publicity and dented international credibility,
making it very difficult for the country to mobilise funds from other
sources for the project.

All Dabengwa, a former Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra)
supremo could say was that the project had already kicked off at the
Gwayi-Shangani Dam site with the project managers in attendance.

A Chinese firm, Chinese Electrical Machinery and Equipment, has since
been contracted to construct the dam, the first phase of the ambitious
project first mooted in 1912 but has been on ice since then with successive
governments citing the huge costs involved in its implementation as a
deterrent.

"We are tying up certain loose ends but I think we are already there,"
Dabengwa, who is also a former minister of home affairs, said in an
interview at the MZWT premises. "It is just a matter of time before we make
an official announcement about the US$50 million from the overseas financial
institution.

"The money is there, it’s just a matter of time before its is
released," said Dabengwa, who could hardly conceal his glee.

An unspecified tonnage of cement is understood to have been procured
from a local cement producer and was understood be on its way to the dam
site, about 300 kilometres from Bulawayo.

Dabengwa disclosed that work already underway at the dam site was
being bankrolled from the Z$500 million allocated the water project by the
government in its budget estimates for the year 2003.

He said when the US$50 million is finally released by the end of this
month, construction at the dam site would have reached certain development
stages.

"Project managers are on site as we speak. There is activity out
there. We are utilising the money allocated to the project by the government
in the current budget. We want to make progress while we await the release
of the funds by the Malaysian bank which should not take much time," said
Dabengwa. "That money from Import-Export Bank of Malaysian must find us
somewhere."

The implementation of the project is envisaged to turn the dry areas
along the 450-kilometre route of the pipeline to Bulawayo into a green belt,
lighting the fuse for an industrial revolution in the region.

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RBZ allocates $12 billion to MZWT
By Deborah-Fay Ndlovu CHRONICLE 9 JULY 2004

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has allocated the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust $12 billion to enable it to carry out its activities of implementing the project, Governor, Dr Gedion Gono has said.
Dr Gono revealed this during the Bulawayo Publicity Association’s annual general meeting in Bulawayo on Thursday evening.
He said the Central Bank allocated MZWT the money as a loan facility in May, but quickly pointed out that the funds were yet to be disbursed to the organisation.
“The challenge of erratic water supplies to households and industrial sites is a perennial constraint that has thrown considerable sand in the wheels of economic growth and social progression of Bulawayo,” said Dr Gono.
“It is for this reason that, as your Central Bank, we have and continue to put our total commitment to the successful completion of the strategic MatabelelandZambezi Water Project. To this effect, the Reserve Bank has ringfenced financial resources dedicated to this noble cause.”
He also told the meeting that the project would be a source of employment for people of Matabeleland.
The chairman of the MZWT, Cde Dumiso Dabengwa yesterday declined to comment on the issue and said his organisation would release a statement on the development next week.“We will come out with a statement on that issue next week,” said Cde Dabengwa.
Preliminary work for the long awaited scheme, which entails the construction of the GwayiShangani Dam, has already kicked off.
Upon completion the dam is expected to hold 634 million cubic metres of water.
The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project whose main components are the construction of the GwayiShangani Dam and the establishment of 450km pipeline tapping water from the Zambezi River has been on the drawing board since 1912.
In 1996, the Zambezi Water Trust conducted feasibility research using the Swedish consultants, which was approved by the Government.

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From The New Sunday Times (Malaysia), 31 July

Mugabe: Time not ripe for water deal

Langkawi - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said the time was not yet ripe to seal a deal on the RM2.28 billion venture between a Malaysian company and the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Authority. "The project requires much more discussion. Our Ministry of Water is also not here. The deal will be done in the future," he said yesterday. On Wednesday, Malaysian officials had announced that a shareholders' agreement between the two parties was scheduled to be signed at the close of the dialogue. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis said the two parties were still thrashing out several technical issues. It was reported that the project involves harnessing water from the Zambezi River to irrigate the drought-prone Matabeleland region. The Malaysian company involved in the project is said to hold an 80 per cent stake, while the rest would be held by Matabeleland-Zambezi Water Authority. Reports from Harare stated that a joint-venture company known as Mount Hope Services (Private) Limited would spearhead the project and hold a 30-year concession. The reports also said the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Malaysia would invest RM190 million in the project to bankroll the piping of water from the Zambezi River and the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam. The Matabeleland water project has been on the drawing board for years due to financial setbacks and other problems.

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http://www.zimbabwechronicle.com/2005/March/08/local_news/local8.htm

LOCAL


Gwayi Shangani Dam construction on course
By Kholwani Nyathi
THE construction of the Gwayi Shangani Dam wall, the main component of the multibillion Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project will start in July, it has been learnt.
The chairman of the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust, Cde Dumiso Dabengwa, told a ZANU (PF) campaign meeting in Nkulumane on Sunday that the contractor had promised that the necessary groundwork would be completed by the end of June.
“In July the contractor will start building the dam wall and we are confident that the project is moving in the right direction,” Cde Dabengwa said.
Last month, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced that it had taken full responsibility for the funding of the MZWP and promised to release a total of $65 billion for the first half of this year.
This was in addition to the $25 billion the central bank released to the project last year.
The blasting of the riverside where the dam would be located, at the confluence of the Gwayi and Shangani rivers started soon after the first tranche was released.
Cde Dabengwa said the excavation of the northern side of the riverbank had been completed by the end of this year.
He said the MZWP, board met recently and resolved that the resettlement of villagers that would be affected by the dam should start immediately.
“We have met twice as a board where we agreed that the resettlement of people that will be affected by the dam and the laying of the pipeline should start,” he said.
Cde Dabengwa said he left active politics to dedicate his time to the MZWP, which had the potential to change the economic face of the region.
Speaking at the same event, Vice President, Cde Joseph Msika said the Government was fully committed to the success of the project.
A 450kilometre pipeline will be constructed to bring water to Bulawayo.
It is hoped villagers along the way will take advantage of the water to establish irrigation schemes, thereby creating a green belt stretching from Hwange to Bulawayo.
The dam will act as a reservoir for the water that will be pumped from the mighty Zambezi River.
The project, hailed as Zimbabwe’s biggest economic development project and largest civil engineering works since the construction of Kariba Dam in the 1950s, is expected to create thousands of jobs.

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http://www.dailymirror.co.zw/index.cfm?name=natnews&wh=main&sid=15039&ishudate=2005-08-30%2020:34:00.0&ishuid=541

No more press statements on Zambezi Project: Dabengwa

From Our Correspondent in Bulawayo
issue date :2005-Aug-30

IN a move likely to fuel speculation about the future of the multi-billion dollar Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP), its chairman Dumiso Dabengwa says from now on neither him nor members of the board of trustees will talk to the press about the project.
He said they would rather have the facts speak for themselves while journalists would be invited to tour the site and write competently and factually on progress made at the massive venture expected to turn the parched Matabeleland region into a greenbelt.
Dabengwa’s statement followed numerous complaints from analysts and the public about the reported snail pace of construction work.
“I will no longer be issuing statements or comments on this project because I believe that you should be the eye of your readers,” the former Home Affairs minister said.
“Given that, you should be able to drive to the construction site every now and then so that you see progress made on the project and inform your readers on what you will have seen there,” he added.
Dabengwa explained that their decision was not based on gagging the press per se, but because it was MZWP policy now to desist from blowing their own trumpet, which variably made people suspect that the organisation was trying to cover up for its failures.
“We have reached this decision because some people think that we are blowing our own trumpet. Some believe our continued presence in the media are efforts to cover for our failures,” he said. “We are saying to you as the media, go out there and see for yourself what has happened and tell the people what you have seen.”
The project has so far received massive funding from the national fiscus and the central bank.
Recently, the MZWP Trust requested for $4,2 billion it said would enable it to adequately monitor progress so far made in the important venture.
That request aside, the project also received varying monetary injections from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe yet it was still to fully take off the ground.
A visit to the site recently revealed that construction work was yet to start though excavations had been completed.

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