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Other dams under construction include Gwayi Shangani to provide water to Bul- awayo, remainder for irrigation projects along water pipeline and generate 6MW of electricity.

Others include Semwa Dam in Rushinga, Ziminya dam in Nkayi, Matabeleland North, Vungu Dam in Silobela, Midlands province while Muchekeranwa dam near Marondera has since been completed with farmers now reaping fruits from it.

Kunzvi dam which has been on cards dating back several years took off at the incep- tion of the Second Republic.

Zinwa corporate communications and marketing manager, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said under the thrust, Zinwa will provide potable water, establish nutritional gardens, fishery projects, orchards and water for dip tanks.

She said the construction of Kunzvi dam, which has breathed hope in Harare metropolitan residents and surrounding communities was on course.

“Kunzwi Dam is being constructed on the Nyagui River which separates Murewa and Goromonzi Districts.

The main purpose of the dam is to supply water to Harare. It will also supply water to rural service centres within its environment.

The dam is now 17 percent complete. Current works at the dam include the excavation of the dam centre line and the placement of core material and rip rap,” she said.

Economic analyst, Mr Pedzisai Masamha said Kunzvi Dam will boost tourism industry owing to its proximity to Harare.

“There will be fisheries and other facilities and that will obviously boost tourism industry. Harare will be turned green because of constant supply of water. But more importantly dam construction projects by the Government have far reaching impact in that they are for the future generation to come,” he said.

President Mnangagwa has since commissioned Muchekeranwa Dam in Marondera where a group of 48 families displaced during the construction of the water body were in July this year assigned their irrigated plots on the out grower irrigation scheme.

Already 30 hectares of the 90ha assigned have been cleared and cultivated with a centre pivot installed under the first phase of the project.

In July this year, President Mnangagwa commissioned an innovation and agro industrial park spearheaded by Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology where it will partner with the community with an out grower irrigation scheme drawing water from Muchekeranwa Dam.

The dam has turned the area into a greenbelt as local farmers and the institutions of higher learning are producing crops all year round.

Ziminya Dam in Nkayi, Matabeleland North, which will have a hydro power station on site was mooted 24 years ago but no work had been done since the conception of the project and work only started under the Second Republic.

Semwa Dam in Rushinga will provide 12 000 hectares for irrigation and small hydro power plant water supply to Rushinga and Chimhanda.

Already more processing is planned for Rushinga, along with a lime mine and processing plant, so off-farm employment opportunities for local people are increasing as the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa scales up infrastructural development activities.

In Centenary Mashonaland Central, Silverstroom Dam will provide irrigation and portable water in the area and Muzarabani districts.

Other projects in Mashonaland Central include Dande and Bindura dam.

Dande Dam will provide irrigation and water supply to Guruve and Mbire helping both livestock and wildlife. The community is also expected to venture into fish farming.

Chivhu Dam in Mashonaland East is now nearing completion and will go a long way in providing water to Chivhu town.

In Gwanda district, Matabeleland South the Tuli-Manyange Dam which was mooted in the 1960s but work resumed in earnest in 2019 following the intervention of the Second Republic.

Villagers at are excited by the construction of the dam which has since improved their welfare.

Villagers commended the Government for constructing the dam saying it would go a long way in improving the quality of life in the generally arid area.

An elderly man, Mr Phibeon Mabika from Nyandoro Village, commended President Mnangagwa for his visionary leadership. “With his foresight and strategic thinking, our area will soon be transformed. We want to thank our President and all his leadership,” he said.