Zinwa seeks $70m for dam refurbishments

By Andrew Kunambura

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) is seeking $70 million for the refurbishment of major dams which, if further delayed, could see them collapsing.

This came out when Zinwa management appeared before the parliamentary thematic committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment last week.

Zinwa chief executive officer Jefta Sakupwanya told the committee that at least 266 dams across the country were in urgent need of refurbishment after they were ravaged by last year’s heavy rains which caused heavy floods across the country.

“The authority aims to rehabilitate 266 dams which were breached in the 2016/17 rainfall season.

“This will require a financial outlay of about $70 million.

“After the floods, we moved around the country taking note or recording all dams which were breached and the rehabilitation of those will cost $70 million,” said Sakupwanya.

This would imply that the figure has more than doubled in less than two years.

As of April 2016, dam maintenance required $33 million, which government could not avail citing financial challenges.

The dams, Sakupwanya said, now posed a serious danger to human life and infrastructure.

He said Zinwa was currently in the process of rehabilitating 41 of the dams. DailyNews