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George Maponga Masvingo Bureau
Authorities at the Chivi and Masvingo rural district councils are seeking at least $300 000 to jointly craft the local development plan on Tokwe-Mukosi Dam. The dam covers the area between the two districts and they will have to jointly draw the local development plan.

The plan will among other things capture the expectations of local stakeholders, particularly communities around the Tokwe Mukosi Dam. Chivi RDC chief executive Mr Tariro Matavire said the local development plan will be drawn on completion of the dam’s master plan.

The master plan is being steered by Government after Tokwe-Mukosi was accorded national project status.

“We need about US$300 000 to come up with the local development plan for Tokwe-Mukosi Dam and the plan will be drawn jointly with our counterparts at the Masvingo RDC whom we share the water body with,” said Mr Matavire.

“Work on the local development plan will start once the master plan is in place. We will get direction on how to draw the local development plan from the master plan, which is currently being worked on by Government.”

Mr Matavire said the two local authorities were hopeful that Government would finance the Tokwe-Mukosi local development plan since the project was of national strategic economic importance.

He said Masvingo and Chivi rural districts would benefit immensely from massive socio-economic developments associated with the Tokwe-Mukosi Dam.

Besides the vast agricultural opportunities through irrigation, he said, Tokwe-Mukosi offered employment opportunities for youths from the two districts, particularly in the fisheries industry.

Government recently hired a consultant to validate a master plan at Tokwe-Mukosi that was crafted before its construction. The State recently released $20 million for the crafting of the master plan.

Tokwe-Mukosi will irrigate more than 25 000 hectares, transforming dry parts of southern-Masvingo into a perennial greenbelt.

A 15-megawatt electric power plant is under construction at the dam, while Tokwe-Mukosi will also spur sugar cane production in the Lowveld.