STAFF WRITER
IF the much touted and trumpeted, Gwayi-Shangani dam is the panacea to Bulawayo water woes then the residents must brace themselves for more years of suffering, at least in terms of water.
For many years the second largest city in the country has been battling with a staggering water crisis, due to perennial droughts, which have caused residents to go for weeks without receiving tap water.
In turn, the government placed all its hope on the Gwayi-Shangani dam, as a long-term solution.
The Gwayi-Shangani dam is under construction at a gorge in Mabale, Hwange district, where Gwayi and Shangani rivers coalescence to form a confluence that feeds into the Zambezi river.
Also, the project will install a pipeline to draw water from the Zambezi river to feed into a reservoir at the dam.
However, the dam is set to miss the 2021 deadline for completion due to Covid-19 not mentioning other challenges like funding constraints.
No major work was undertaken in 2020 because the constructor, China International Water and Electric Corporation is holed up in China due to the Corona virus.
“The constructor was in China when Covid -19 hit and they have failed to come back and resume construction,” Lucio Chayeruka, assistant resident engineer at the dam site, briefed a visiting delegation on Wednesday.
“This means we will miss our 2021 deadline as not much work has been done,” he added.
Chayeruka said China International Water and Electric Corporation is expected back in Zimbabwe in January 2021.
“We hope by 2022 we would have completed the dam,” he said.
However, there have been reports of failure by the government to pay the company.
“Can you be honest with us and tell us the truth is it about Covid-19 or the government is failing to pay the company,” asked Matabeleland Collective secretary general, Jenni Williams.
Chayeruka responded saying: ” Yes they have been challenges but l can tell you that the client (government) has been trying to settle arrears. What l do not know is that when the constructor returns the client would have settled the debt”.
Only 11 percent of the dam wall has so far been constructed.
This translates to a meagre 8 metres out of 72 metres to be constructed.
But, Chayeruka insisted that 39 percent of the dam project was complete.
“If you factor in logistics and resources l can say we are 39 percent complete. We have everything in place and what is left is construction,” he said.
A tour of the dam site on Wednesday revealed that no construction was taking place.
There was no sign of life.
“The government declared this project as a priority project and no project will be commenced until this one is finished,” declared Chayeruka.
But the situation on the ground tells a different story.
The project has been divided into three phases due to financial challenges.
The first stage involves the construction of the dam wall.
The second is the installation of pipelines that will feed a reservoir in Cowdray Park.
The last stage will be the construction of a power station with the capacity to generate 10 megawatts that will feed into the national grid.
“If all resources are available it will only take us a year to finish everything,” said Chayeruka.
Bulawayo City Council last month said US$1 billion is required to finish the Gwayi-Shangani dam project.
