Development of water resources and peace have been inextricably interlinked always.
Enhancing the productive capacities of the local communities redirects people’s energies towards creating better working relations. There are differing statistics as to the number of dams in the country. The National Water policy estimates there are 8000 dams in Zimbabwe and 244 are classified as large. Considering communal dams alone, the RWIMS database shows that there are 1134 dams nationally, 216 dams in Mashonaland West, 27 in Mhondoro- Ngezi, 2 in Ward 11 and none in Village One. The statistics show the neglect of people in communal areas, as dams are used mostly for collective gardens and hence are a source of livelihoods for many. The 2012 Census statistics reveal that 67% of the Zimbabwean population live in rural areas, with a population size of 8 777 094.48 It is clear from the data that a slightly above a thousand communal dams cannot serve the needs of such a huge population. Isakovic (2001) argued that a society commits violence against its members when it forcibly stunts their development and undermines their well-being through lack of access to water. Although a few have their own household water sources, they are simply not enough relative to the population. In Village One, the study setting, there is no dam and people rely on pools (which always dry up) to irrigate their gardens and for their livestock. During dry seasons, some people’s livestock die due to lack of water. Ownership of livestock, in particular cattle, is prestigious in communal areas of Zimbabwe and particularly in Village One. If one loses cattle, he/she may considered poor, a painful phenomenon.
48 Zimbabwe National Census, 2012
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Dam projects, as water resources development, have provided many development opportunities in the places they have been implemented. Gozo (2011) carried out a survey of dam constructions undertaken by the Zimbabwean government which found that the construction of dams (for example, Osborne in Manicaland) led to irrigation projects to assist the rural poor to increase their incomes through increased productivity. Irrigation projects give people the chance to interact, co-operate and have dialogue, which enhances peacebuilding.
The dam and irrigation projects need maintenance to continue being productive to communities. As Gozo’s 2011 survey discovered, most of the completed dams have significantly lost their capacities due to siltation from inappropriate catchment management (for example, Suri dam). Some dams dry up during the summer seasons, such as Matorahuku dam in Chiwundura communal lands when irrigation demands are at a peak thereby crippling crop production. Over-abstraction and water pollution are other challenges associated with government initiated water development projects. Due to land reform many commercial farmers were replaced by A1 and A2 farmers. These farmers are used to the subsistence mode of farming and communal tenure, where dams were communally owned, hence no personal investments were made. There is a need to enhance capacity of the farmers to have initiatives to collectively maintain dams in their own area. This comes through including them in sub- catchment councils and giving them lessons on proper abstraction of water for irrigation.
Development of water resources if haphazardly planned can lead to loss of livelihoods, due to unintended disasters, such as the Tokwe Mukosi floods in 2014. As reported by the Herald on 9 December 2014, heavy rains pounded southern parts of Masvingo and precipitated flooding in the Tokwe Mukosi Dam that saw rising water threatening to sweep away the dam wall.
Around 4 500 villagers living along the flood basin of the dam were evacuated after water, escaping from cracks in the dam wall, flooded Tugwi River that flows directly towards the villages. The floods submerged homes and destroyed property, leaving thousands of families’
homeless and destitute.
The flood victims were evacuated and began to live in classrooms together with their belongings forcing several schools around the Tokwe-Mukosi Dam to stop conducting lessons, in the process affecting children. Over 2 000 school children were forced to abandon classes after more than ten primary and secondary schools in the basin were flooded. The floods destroyed roads, clinics and bridges leaving a huge developmental wound in the affected areas.
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The people were moved to relocation sites of Nuanetsi Ranch in Mwenezi District. The place became overcrowded and unhygienic due to a lack of clean drinking water. A conflict between the government and the displaced people ensued as the authorities started using force to relocate the flood victims, after the victims had refused to be relocated without full compensation saying that it was an infringement of their human rights. The above example shows the importance of engaging the people likely to be affected by any water development related project well before its commencement.
Water resource development can also mean tapping of underground water to meet the basic needs of the rural populations. Tapping groundwater has been mainly done through borehole drilling. The Rural Wash Information Management system (RWIMS) database shows that nationally, there are 24 117 communal boreholes available for 1 419 583 households. There are 3 084 communal boreholes in Mashonaland West serving 221 633 households. In Mhondoro-Ngezi District there are 283 communal boreholes serving 21 980 households. In ward 11 there are 22 communal boreholes used by 1 758 households and in Village One, the study area, there is only one borehole serving 65 households. The most common hand pump is the bush pump with a pumping capacity of approximately 20 litres per minute, each designed to serve a rural population of 250 people. The Central Statistics Office estimate the average Zimababwean household size at six individuals. The estimated population of the village is 390 people, meaning the borehole is being overused. This lead to frequent breakdowns, and shortages of clean drinking water. The then Ministry of Water Resources Development and Management (2010, p. 3) argued that a major challenge is the weak operation and maintenance system for rural water points, resulting in approximately 60% of the hand pumps remaining in a state of non-repair for long periods at any one point in time.
A survey by the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (2016, p. 54), which comprises of the government agencies, donor agencies, NGOs and private businesses found that about 19% of the rural wards had an irrigation scheme.49 Of these wards, 53% had functional irrigation schemes, 35% had partially functional and 37% had non-functional irrigation schemes. Equipment breakdown and inadequate water continue to be the main causes of non-functionality and partial functionality of irrigation schemes in the country. The above statistics shows that water for people’s productive needs is insufficient, with many people over
49 ZIMVAC carries out a survey annually around the country to determine areas in need of aid.
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reliant on rainwater. The National Water Policy (2013, p. 17) claims that 20% of the land in Zimbabwe in currently under irrigation.50 This is mainly due to the loss of experienced human resources, itself an indication of how people are critical for input in successful water policies.
This has resulted in a decreased revenue base accruing to ZINWA and consequently no new investment in water.