Parliament demands timeline as Gwayi-Shangani dam delays persist
Parliamentary Watch
HARARE — Members of Parliament have challenged the Executive over protracted delays in completing the Lake Gwayi-Shangani Dam, questioning why a project conceived decades ago to solve Bulawayo’s chronic water shortages remains unfinished.
The debate arose in the National Assembly during deliberations on the 2026 Mid-Term Budget and Economic Review and the 2027 Budget Strategy Paper, with legislators demanding a complete shift in national infrastructure funding models.
Contributing to the debate, Hon. Madzivanyika criticised Treasury for spreading state funds across nearly a dozen dam projects simultaneously instead of fully financing and completing a few within a fixed timeframe.
“We are told that there are various infrastructure projects. Let me give examples of dams. There are nine or ten dams which are on the cards. Examples are Gwayi-Shangani, Kunzvi, Vungu, Zimunya, Tuli, Semwa, Defe, Bindura and many more,” Hon. Madzivanyika said.
“These dams, Hon. Speaker, yes, they are long-term projects, but in every successful budget, they are actually recorded. Why not have two projects we can finance within three or four years and finish them? Imagine the Gwayi-Shangani; since I was very young, I was always told of this Gwayi-Shangani. I do not think this is encouraging.”
In response, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Prof. Mthuli Ncube defended the Treasury’s capital expenditure framework, stating that the government had already narrowed its primary focus to two strategic water projects.
“Turning to the issue of dams, he mentioned an important point. There are so many dams that we have on the list that we are supporting this year. Why do we not just choose two and focus on those? However, that is exactly what we have done,” Prof. Ncube said.
Prof. Ncube told the House that Lake Gwayi-Shangani in Matabeleland North and Kunzvi Dam in Mashonaland East are being funded aggressively ahead of all other water projects.
“If you look at that list, the dams that are really being funded aggressively are Gwayi-Shangani Dam and the Kunzvi Dam. Gwayi-Shangani Dam to support the Greenbelt all the way to Bulawayo, as well as the Kunzvi Dam to support Harare Water Supply,” said Prof. Ncube.
“You will see that both of those are at over 70% completion, while the rest that are on the list that we started years back are sitting at 30%, 20%, which just shows you that they are not the primary focus this year.”
The Lake Gwayi-Shangani project forms the first phase of the century-old Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP), first proposed in 1912.Located at the confluence of the Gwayi and Shangani rivers in Hwange District, the 650-million-cubic-metre roller-compacted concrete dam is designed to supply potable water to Bulawayo via a 252-kilometre pipeline, generate 10 megawatts of hydroelectric power, and open up an agricultural irrigation greenbelt.
Despite Treasury reporting that construction progress has surpassed 70%, civil society groups and local authorities in Matabeleland continue to lobby for the simultaneous completion of the transmission pipeline and the resolution of resettlement logistics for affected families in Lubimbi.
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