mutokwe dam was a poor plan

I must also admit that government delayed in taking action to alleviate suffering in the areas around Mukosi Dam. They left their job to care for its citizens. They knew that Bulawayo had never received more rains in more than a decade and water problems have been the talk of the days. so how come they just thought every thing will be fine when they saw that this year the whole country was going to recieve more rains than the other years.

The World’s Dams Association emphasises that when people are moved due to floods, they must be compensated by government for, among others, the trauma endured. The government is saying that when the dam is complete, it would benefit five irrigation schemes billed to be the largest small-scale irrigation development in Zimbabwe. but my question is what will those displaced families relying on in their day to day lifes. the scheme is a good one but l think that its a poor one as the farming projects take time until the people can actually benefit. the government should come up with a scheme that serves the current situation as well as the future of the people aroung the dam.
 Also the engineers are to blame for this event. When they were working on the plans for the dam, they should have looked at possible future scenarios and concluded that flooding can and might  exceed a certain amount. they were not supposed to look at the past but the future because the climate is changing with evry season and every day.

The engineers also projected that the dam would be getting 1,8 billion cubic litres of water in four years and constructed a coffer dam responsible for catching water before it flows into the bigger Tokwe Murkosi Dam.
“When we look at the whole of Masvingo, we will be getting 400-500ml of rain per year but this season we got more than 800ml in one week. These rains then filled the small dam that was supposed to be holding 600ml and the water flowed onto the big wall and this covered the 2 600 hectares with water, which is not what they had considered.
 dams are good and dangerous to both human and animal life, so when constructing a dam, the engineers and who ever is involved must take their time and make sure that there is enough time and resources just to do the perfect structure. this type of planning usually cause more problems than anticipated.

Many people were inconvenienced, graves were destroyed, school children were disturbed in their education and the farmers have also been disturbed.

CONSTRUCTION of the Zimbabwe Diamond Technology Centre (ZDTC) faces a major hurdle after companies involved in the construction of the hub downed tools, before proceeding to sue the centre owner, Lovemore Kurotwi, over non-payment of US$5 million in fees and interest,this infor l got from the Financial Gazette.

Billed as a critical contributory component in the nation’s minerals beneficiation plan, one of the key elements upon which the success of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) is hinged, a lot is riding on the successful and timeous completion of the centre.

Located in Mt. Hampden, on the outskirts of Harare, the centre has an initial plan to house 500 factories. will these survive to save sucha large number of workers and pay them well? with each of the factories expected to employ 200 cutters and polishers as well as more workers for ancillary services.

does this mean that the unemployement rate will decrease and the poverty dertame line will raise? 

investors hesistate to take risk in Zimbabwe

The economy is currently so emaciated that domestic investment funds are minimal, hence the need for recourse to foreign funding, concurrently with accessing state-of-the-art technology not presently available in Zimbabwe. it is indisputable that the Zimbabwean economy cannot recover substantially, despite its massive potential, without attracting substantial foreign investment.

 However, almost all investors turn their backs on Zimbabwean investment opportunities because they are deeply concerned that their investment will not be secure. That fear was initially fuelled by perspectives on political instability and unrest prior to the 2008 elections, and still exists albeit at much lesser levels.

Thereafter fears over investments insecurity intensified when Zimbabwe started implementing indigenisation legislation, enacted in March 2008, and vigorously pursued in the post-election period. Almost all investors are willing to have indigenous co-investors, but do not wish such investors to be imposed upon them, especially so when the co-investors are governmental entities such as the National Youth Development Fund.

The potential investor is also usually unwilling to have a minority status in the investment entity, which in terms of prevailing policies is the case, for government emphatically persists in its demands that non-indigenous investment participation not exceed 49%, with indigenous investment at 51% minimum.

That fear of investment insecurity is compounded by statements such as that recently made by President Robert Mugabe that all Zimbabwean economic entities should be 100% held by Zimbabweans, notwithstanding the president shortly thereafter stated publicly that foreign investors must comply with Zimbabwe’s investment laws and policies.

If 100% of investments are to be held by Zimbabweans (most of whom are devoid of investment funding) there can be no foreign investors, and hence no obligation to comply with Zimbabwe’s laws and policies. However, Mugabe’s subsequent statement does imply 100% of all Zimbabwean entities need not be held by Zimbabweans, and that foreign investment is acceptable. Nevertheless, such conflicting statements result in further investor concerns over potential investment insecurity.

marange diamond miners to reduce to one

Zimbabwe has announced plans to reduce the number of diamond mining companies operating in the Marange diamond fields to just one but will this move ensure control, supervision and accountability. this information has been said by the Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, some time last week

 surprisingly, the government has not yet announced what criteria will be used in selecting the single company that will run operations. will they ever update the public of the criteria they will use or they will just wake up one day to announce the company at the fields?

while they are busying them with which company to remain in charge of Marange di9amonds, will this mean that the potholes on Melbourne Road in Southerton, an industrial district of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital,which are bone-jarring will be repaired? the J. Lyons factory, a surviving outpost of a once-grand British company, is being loaded with jars of processed food.The offices next door have whitewashed windows; the gates of the factory opposite are firmly shut. The empty buildings belong to Reckitt Benckiser, an Anglo-Dutch company whose brands, including Dettol disinfectant and Nugget shoe polish, span 60 countries—but no longer Zimbabwe. The Reckitt factory there closed before Christmas and has not reopened. Many other local firms have done the same. will the selected company revenue help in uplifting the Zimbabwean economy that seems to be beyond repair?  we just hope that as a country, this step will lead us some where and that the government will not put all its hands on that money as they embezzle funds to their own benefits and leaving out the public that gave them the fortune to be within those offices.

 The closures of most companies are just one sign that the economic recovery is stalling. This began in 2009 when the worthless Zimbabwe dollar was replaced by a multi-currency system based largely on the American dollar. But in the run-up to Christmas some banks were forced to put limits on cash withdrawals. SABMiller says lager sales tumbled by 25% in the year to the fourth quarter, as beer-drinkers switched to cheaper brews based on sorghum. Consumers started to feel the pinch in the second half of last year, says Albert Katsande of OK Zimbabwe, a big retailer. Prices are being cut to encourage shoppers to spend more. A country ravaged by hyperinflation, which officially reached 500 trillion per cent in 2008, may soon have deflation.

this means that more revenue needed. Mathew Nyaungwa, a diamond industry expert, said axing useless diamond miners was long overdue and the company that will be chosen to set up a joint venture with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) should have a sound history of diamond mining.
he went on to say that the reality for now is that the government's purse is somewhat empty and revenue from diamond mining remains truncated, as was the case during the chaotic days of the unity government. this is some what serious than l used  to think.

Zesa Holdings could be losing more than US$10 million in potential revenue monthly due to electricity thefts by a syndicate involving its employees. It has also emerged that the power utility is producing electricity at a high cost of about 14 US cents per kilowatt hour due to inefficiencies that see thermal energy stations wasting coal, a major raw material in power generation. People must therefore learn to converse the little electricity that is available as coal is a non renewable resource.

The loss that Zesa Holdings is experiencing is resulting in the increased load shedding the country has been experiencing last week. The load shedding has had impacts on the industries as they had to go for almost 8 hrs without electricity. when l read the herald on the load shedding that has been occurring lately, l learnt  that more than 10 current and former Zesa employees are involved in the power thefts, although some of them have not yet been charged and are still at work.

with all the corruption that is happening in the country, how then do we expect to make things right and revamp the industries that have closed long since. Even when there are many people who want to invest n the country, for instance, the owner of Dunlop sent a proposal that has to be approved to let them invest in the country to revamp industries. But if the load shedding and the thefts continue, are they going to stay in a country that introduced prepaid electricity to save energy and allow people to use what they afford yet corruption is on the lead and nothing seems to be working. 

when l as in gweru last week, residents were complaining that units per dollar had been reduced. some of the residents have opted to use wood to do all the cooking and then use the electricity for lighting only. so will the economy of Zimbabwe ever recover when the populations face more load shedding that is causing industries to close and look for alternative means of energy. this might lead to more deforestration and increased soil erosion which might affect rainfall patterns