According to Zimbabwe Independent, the move had heightened her “bitter fights with local villagers”, who were now barred from using the huge dam, as she also wanted to privatise it.
The First Lady’s growing empire already included a huge double-storey mansion, a dairy farm, an orphanage and a school.
The report said that Grace was also planning on building a university.
A Zimbabwean court early this year reportedly ruled against the First Lady’s move to seize a farm in the same area.
Reports suggested that Grace had evicted a number of families from their home.
The Mazowe Dam was the country’s 16th largest reservoir and had a capacity of 39.35 million cubic metres of water. According to The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) it was 99.9% full as of June 12.
“Grace’s latest move has infuriated villagers, some of whom earned a living through fishing and other activities around there,” the report said.
The Dam was now being guarded by armed law enforcement agents “to keep away villagers and other people”.
Meanwhile, reports last year indicated that the Mugabes owned at least fourteen farms that were gained through the country’s chaotic land reform programme introduced in the early 2000s.
Post published in: Agriculture
Mazowe Dam and all Grace’s other property can be taken back as soon as Mugabe is ousted.
The government that replaces Mugabe and ZANU-PF must also make a point of confiscating all the illegally gained holdings, as well as the assets the Mugabe family and other hangers-on hold both in Zimbabwe and abroad, much of it
in the West.
This does not just apply to Mugabe and his family, but to all money and assets illegally gained by all members of ZANU-PF, including illegally gained farmland.
Zimbabwe will need a great deal of money to undo the damage done by this regime, and this confiscation will make a huge contribution to that. The other advantage is that this money will be in lump sums, and not be in the form of loans that have to be repaid.