Zinwa charges must be minimal — Chinotimba
By Lloyd Mbiba
HARARE – Joseph Chinotimba, the Buhera South Zanu PF Member of Parliament (MP), has queried why Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) was charging water that it gets from the Zambezi River’s catchment area for free.
Contributing to debate on government’s policy on agricultural financing on Tuesday, Chinotimba said Zinwa had no right to charge for water it obtained from a shared river basin.
“Let us take an example of the water that is in the Zambezi River. Zambezi River originates from DRC,” Chinotimba said.
“Zinwa expects us to pay for water that is coming from DRC and yet it is not their water. We do not pay a single cent to DRC, where the water is coming from,” he said to uproarious laughter in the national Assembly.
The Zambezi River, lying wholly within the Sadc, is the largest watercourse system in the region and its catchment area is some 1 300 000 square kilometres, occupying the territories of Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its source is in the wetlands of the Mwinilunga district of north-western Zambia, near the border where Zambia, Angola and the DRC meet.
The Buhera South MP questioned why there was no dam in Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River courses through.
“Last weekend, I went to Victoria Falls,” Chinoitimba said. “It does not have a dam but Zinwa is charging farmers, why? All farmers are complaining and they are asking why Zinwa is doing this and yet God gave us water. We are not saying that we should not pay, but we are saying charges should be minimal.”
Chinotimba said European farmers were given land, water and electricity for free after the Second World War, and said this should be replicated in Zimbabwe.
“I made a follow up on the Second World War. After the Second World War, they were allocated land. No one paid electricity and no one paid for water.
“We fought in the liberation struggle and we are expected to pay for the land and water we fought for,” he said. Daily News
