Staff Reporter
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement Honorable Anxious Masuka yesterday toured Semwa Dam project as well as Chimhanda Irrigation Scheme in Rushinga.
Minister Masuka who was in the company of Minister of State and Devolution for Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs Honorable Senator Monica Mutsvangwa and Minister of Home Affairs Honorable Kazembe Kazembe also visited Rushinga’s Cottco and Grain Marketing Board depots.
The Semwa dam project is set to transform the lives of villagers in Rushinga and Mount Darwin, as it has the capacity to irrigate 12,000 hectares.
This is in line with the National Development Strategy 1 which seeks to improve food self-sufficiency and to retain the regional bread basket status of the country.
Minister Masuka promised to expedite the construction of the dam which was supposed to be completed in the first quarter of 2023 and said he will enable it to be done by December of 2022.
The dam once completed will provide water supply to Rushinga and Chimhanda growth points and surrounding government establishments such as schools and clinics.
The dam will also generate hydroelectricity which will be fed in the national grid for the benefit of the nation at large.
The Semwa Dam Project is wholly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe through treasury.
The project was allocated ZLW750 million in 2021 and the total estimated cost is ZLW3.4 billion.
The country is targeting to expand the Irrigation development and water harvesting for enhanced agriculture production and productivity targeting over 350 000 hectares during NDS1.
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