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THE INTERVIEW Tendai Mugabe
TM: As Masvingo province, are you ready to implement the concept of devolution?

EC: We are more than ready, so to speak. Firstly, we want to thank His Excellency the President Cde ED Mnangagwa for abiding with the provisions of our Constitution, which speaks to the issue of devolution. Masvingo is a rich province, to begin with. We have some big mines that are contributing to both national and international markets.

If we look at Bikita Minerals, it is mining lithium, which is sought after all over the world. We have Renco Mine, which is mining gold and their output at the present moment is standing at around 65kg per month. We have also the Steel Makers, which is mining coal in Chiredzi in Sengwe and if we add value to that raw mineral, we can have fertiliser and electricity, among other products.

We also chrome ihave n Masvingo and recently we have discovered diamonds in Chivi, at Sese. Also Murowa Mine is mining diamonds on the part of Chivi which falls under Masvingo province and we also have asbestos in our province. I can safely say we have a strong foothold in the mining                                                   sector.

In the agricultural sector, we can do wonders because we are blessed with several water bodies in our province. We have Tugwi-Mukosi, Mutirikwi, Manyuchi and Muzwi dams and other small dams which we are planning to utilise significantly to ensure that our province is self-sufficient in terms of food production. We are going to establish new irrigation schemes over and above the ones we have. In this regard, we want to thank the President for pioneering the Command Agriculture whose impact is being felt across the province.

All these projects are going to contribute immensely to our provincial GDP. We also have the tourism sector where we boast of being home to the Great Zimbabwe Monuments. By and large, I can say as Masvingo we are ready for devolution and that process of empowering provinces from the central Government is a good move that is going to benefit our people and speaks well to the vision of our President of transforming (Zimbabwe)  into an upper middle income econ0my by 2030.

 TM: You mentioned Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, which is one of the major inland dams that we have in this country. So far, it has not benefited the people and the talk has been revolving around the issue of the master plan. How far have you gone in terms of developing this master plan?

EC: The issue of the master plan is long overdue. I think in future, a master plan should be developed before the construction of the dam. We now have the dam, but we are not benefiting from it because of the issue of the master plan. The latest information relating to the issue of the master plan is that the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement, Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri, visited our province last week and we discussed that matter. We agreed that there are other business opportunities that do not need to wait for the development of the master plan and can be established now.

For instance, the construction of hotels on islands does not require a master plan and fishing projects as well. It’s just a matter of grouping our people and giving them fishing licences and identify areas they can do the fishing from. If we look at irrigation, the land is there and what is only needed is to look at the farming structures, whether its commercial or small scale. I am sure by early next year some of these projects will be taking shape.

TM: Have you courted new investors to come to your province in view of a devolved State that we are going to have soon?

EC: We have investors who are going to set up solar projects in our province. Recently, we had some investors at Mutirikwi Dam who want to set up a solar floating plant system that will produce 15 megawatts that can be fed into the national grid.

I think they are going to start the installation of the plant in January next year and it will employ around 200 people. It’s a first of its kind in Southern Africa and if it works out for them, they have plans of setting up other plants on other dams in this province and others across the country.

TM: Any plans to revive irrigation schemes in the province since you highlighted that you have several water bodies here?

EC: We are going to produce blueprints for each sector. With regards to the agricultural sector, Government has set a target that by early next year, every district should have a minimum of at least 200 hectares under irrigation and in Masvingo there is no district without a dam. All those dams are underutilised. For instance, if you go to Manyuchi Dam, it has the capacity to irrigate more than 15 000 hectares, but it is currently doing only 4 000 hectares. It can also generate electricity and do tourism, but nothing is happening at the present moment. With this concept of devolution, I am sure Masvingo province is going to be one of the strongest provinces in Zimbabwe in terms of wealth generation.

Furthermore, we also pride ourselves of having a strong human resource support base. We are saying all qualified people from Masvingo in different sectors should now come back and work for the development of their province.

TM: What are the latest developments with regards to the reopening of Cold Storage Commission following the tour of the plant, which used to employ thousands, by President Mnangagwa early this year?

EC: It is one of the major industries that we have here and Masvingo has the largest numbers in terms of the national herd. Government got an investment partner to work with CSC and I hope very soon it will be operating. Also Shabanie-Mashaba will start producing by June next year. Currently, they are pumping out water from the shafts and by January next year they will be resuscitating their equip-                                                                        ment.

They already have their markets both locally and internationally. Locally, Turnall Fibre Company is importing asbestos from countries like Brazil and some Asian countries, yet we have Shabanie-Mashaba which can supply Turnall and I think those are some of the companies that we should give priority to as Government. Mashaba at one time was contributing 10 percent of the national GDP and we cannot let down such a big industry just like that.