Gwayi-Tshangani Dam
3 min read
By Margaret Kamba
The tour of the Gwai-Tshangani Dam this Wednesday was quite intriguing.
I had not been on this part of the country in a long while, and when the opportunity availed itself, it was a welcome development.
When you are stuck in the hustle and bustle of Harare’s Central Business District and literally have nothing to do except to go on social media to find anything and everything to demonize your country on, it is easy to conclude that nothing is going on anywhere else.
To those around some of the key national developmental projects, they can only laugh at the stupidity of those professing to be knowledgeable.
It is quite touchy as it affects the Tonga people who in the past were affected by the construction of the Kariba Dam. As though fate would have it, this dam too affects them apart from the commercial land and covered by the project.
But what value does it have to national development? What is stalling it? What progress has been made so far? When should water harvesting begin so that for once in so many years, if not an eternity, the country can reap the benefits?
A recent tour of the project got me some insight. The concrete gravity arch type of damage, which is roller compacted, will measure a height of 72 meters.
The dam, whose maximum depth will be 61 meters, will have a total volume of 274 350 cubic meters.
The construction of a 5 meter thick downstream apron protection will help avoid a plunge pool. Apart from the constructed bottom diversion outlets for flood control as the process goes on, the blending of cement with pozzolans or fly ash will help reduce thermal strains due to heat of hydration.
Engineer Paul Dengu, the man in charge, says this is the first major project of its kind.
“This is the first major project of its kind learning from the experiences of the Kariba dam. For years, we have been losing water to the Indian Ocean, and we have to harness run away water for climate-proof agriculture. What we are learning here is what we want to use on the Batoka project, so we are watching closely.”
The project currently 69 to 70 percent complete has had financial challenges, but should be able to meet the 2024 December deadline and in time to harvest and store water during the 2024 to 2025 rainfall season.
At least 10 000 hectares of land will be put under irrigation from this project while addressing water woes in Bulawayo and locally.
The displacement of 400 households can not be forgotten, but it is expected that once the 600 hectares are open, the affected families will be integrated into the vicinity to share in the benefits of the Lubimbi-Kana irrigable block.
Three areas are affected by this national project, with Binga having more households than Hwange, which has forest land and Lupane with commercial land.
Efforts to engage the affected households are being done to get in their buy-in, who are expected to be part of the 700 workforce at maximum production.
It is not a child’s play kind of project. The tour helps you understand it as you, walk up and down the 72 blocks of stairs inside the tunnel to help you understand the science that comes along with building the dam.
The men and women camped here who constantly walk up the stairs are now used to the uphill task and understand that the impact of losses incurred here.
The men and women who have consistently put spanners in the works have no idea what they are doing. Theft of resources retards development of any project but according to Engineer Dengu, measures are being taken “calibrate all machines to conform to the volumes.”
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