Sipepa fires MZWP Board

A tug of war is in the offing over the administration of the ill-fated project between the fired board and the government.

Sipepa said the takeover would see the fast implementation of the project that has gathered dust in government administrative offices for over 95 years.

The Zambezi Water Project is a brainchild of the Ian Smith regime, having been mooted in 1912.

Successive attempts to have the project off the ground have failed owing to financial challenges.

“The takeover of the project means that government now has the political will to ensure that it gets off the ground and is implemented in full. It will no longer belong to a selected few individuals, but will now be a national project that will be funded, administered, and accounted for by the government,” Nkomo reportedly told journalists in Harare.

In an interview, Dabengwa said he was still in charge of the project.

He said the government had not advised him of the impending takeover, saying the project was currently being managed by his trust, the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT).

“That communication and reasons thereof have not been communicated to me.

All I know is that at the moment, the Trust is still running that project.

We have not been told of any changes as yet,” said Dabengwa.

Efforts to takeover the management of the water venture aimed at bringing water to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, have been underway for some time.

The efforts have, however, been blocked by a group of Zanu (PF) senior officials with Zapu backgrounds who have told Sipepa in no uncertain terms that they were not supportive of the government takeover idea.

Several meeting have been held in Bulawayo to try and iron the matter out.

The takeover of the Zambezi Water Project means the government can now launch

appeals to donor communities and aid organizations to come to the rescue of

the project with funding.