TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
At least 2000 villagers in Lubimbi, Binga District, in Matabeleland North Province face eviction to pave the way for the construction of the multi-million dollar Gwayi- Shangani Dam project .
The dam project, which is part of the Zambezi Water Project, is expected to be completed before the end of 2022.
Speaking during a meeting hosted by Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) in Bulawayo, Basilwizwi Trust programmes manager, Danisa Mudimba said Binga villagers were haunted by the pending move.
“ …We have fears that the same experience we had after the relocation from the Kariba dam is also going to haunt us again if nothing is done to help us or to rescue our communities. The Gwayi Shangani Dam project is going to relocate around 2000 people,” she said.
“The same experiences of 1957 and 1960 and other relocations is likely to repeat itself. So far there are no consultations made. We are just hearing that we will be removed.”
Albert Muleya a villager from Lubimbi said the area which the government has identified to move them to is not suitable for human habitation.
“We never refused to move from where we are. The government just doesn’t want to take us to the place where we asked to be taken to. The place where they intend to take us to is not conducive. There are no schools, electricity or water,” he said.
December 2022 has been set as the deadline for completion of the massive water body, which will have a capacity of 635 million cubic metres, making it the third biggest in-land dam in the country after Tugwi Mukosi and Mutirikwi.
With construction now more than 40 percent, the dam wall will be 72 metres high and the water body will swallow about 10 000ha of land at full flooding.
Khethiwe Tshuma, Bulawayo Water Action Committee member, said the government should consult villagers first.
“As much as we need the water, we cannot enjoy the resource at the expense of fellow residents. The government was supposed to ensure that people in Lubimbi be given a platform to air their grievances. They deserve to be given answers,” she said.
Last year the city of Bulawayo went through one of its worst water crises when it decommissioned three dams — Upper and Lower Ncema and Umzingwane — forcing it to impose a six-day water shedding regime which saw an outbreak of a water-borne disease which claimed lives in Luveve suburb.
Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights Coordinator, Khumbulani Maphosa said Bulawayo residents cannot proceed to enjoy Gwayi-Shangani Dam water with a clear conscience given the potential infringement on the rights of the Lubimbi community.
“When we say we need safe water in Bulawayo we mean our water must be clean even from human rights violations. Hence as Bulawayo we cannot drink the Gwayi-Shangani water comfortably when the Binga residents are moaning as a result of the processes conducted to bring us the water,” he said.
