THE government is prioritising funding for the Gwayi Shangani Lake project to ensure it is completed by the end of the year.
It took more than a century for the Gwayi Shangani project to kick off after the idea to construct the water body was first mooted in 1912.
The project has been given priority status by the second republic as highlighted by the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka.
“The progress has been incredible from contemporary and historical comparisons of dam construction. We are now at 70 percent completion with 39 metres having been done leaving 20 metres to go so we will be able to impound water this year. The other elements of the dam like the power station are also ongoing,” he noted.
Minister Masuka who was at the site to assess progress, said President Emmerson Mnangagwa has emphasised the need to prioritise funding of the project.
“The President has emphasised that this dam needs to be given adequate resources to enable us to complete it by December this year. This visit is a technical inspection to ascertain that progress and I am satisfied with the progress,” he reiterated.
The Lake is expected to transform the Matabeleland landscape through the creation of a green belt, edging the country closer to its goal of attaining national food security.
It is also set to provide a long-term solution to the City of Bulawayo’s water challenges.
ZBC
Positive Eye
