By Martin Muleya.
Mutare, Zimbabwe. (News Of The South) – The recently appointed Minister of Environment Water and Climate in the government of Zimbabwe has pleaded with local communities in Watsomba, Mutasa area, to establish irrigation schemes in their area.
Oppah Muchinguri – Kashiri, the cabinet Minister responsible for Environment, Water and Climate made this plea last Friday while touring the Pungwe Basin Trans-boundary Integrated Water Resources Management and Development Programme (Pungwe Programme) where she toured various irrigation projects in Mutasa district.
“This project was started way back in 2000 when I was formerly the Governor and Resident Minister in Manicaland province. I remember promising people here that I would divert water from Pungwe River to also pass through your homesteads en-route to Mutare. This project never saw the light of day up until now 15years down the line, and I have come to champion that cause again,” said Muchinguri.
Min Muchinguri expressed shock that Pungwe water which supplies more than eighty per cent of its clean water to residents dotted in Mutare while passing through Watsomba area, yet the villagers there were not benefiting directly or indirectly from this resource.
She tasked the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to replace a worn out valve that supplied water to communities surrounding Mutasa district.
She also tasked the villagers to form irrigation schemes, reiterating that Mutasa district was lagging behind in terms of forming sustainable irrigation schemes that would ease water problems in the area.
“Ever since I was assigned to this ministry, everywhere I have traveled there are irrigation schemes but it is surprising here in Mutasa area there is none yet you have abundant water gushing out by gravity from Pungwe River up there from Honde Valley,” she added.
The Government of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Mozambique recognised the need for efficient joint management and coordinated development and planning of the water resources in the Pungwe River basin, to overcome current and future problems of supplying water of adequate quantity and quality to all water users and to secure dependable flows in the Pungwe River basin.
The programme is meant to address key social, economic, environmental and institutional challenges in the shared basin.
The areas of intervention include institutional development, IWRM Small Grant funds community projects, Stakeholder participation in IWRM, Information and communication systems, Floods and Monitoring, Integrated water and land use.
One of the critical development interventions of the Pungwe Programme is the establishment of a Small-Scale Grants focused on Integrated Water Resource Management and Development at community level. The benefiting projects will have a strong focus on poverty reduction and other cross- cutting issues such as gender equity, improved health and environmental sustainability.
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