By A Correspondent- The government is planning to relocate more than 3,600 families in Chivi District to roll out the long-awaited Tugwi Mukosi dam Master Plan

According to a recently released draft of the master plan—now open for public consultation over a three-month period—3,652 households in Chivi and Masvingo Rural Districts are likely to be directly affected, primarily through displacement.

This new round of potential displacements comes on top of the relocation of around 3,300 families a decade ago, who were moved to Chingwizi in Mwenezi after dam waters inundated their homes in the Tugwi-Mukosi basin.

“For Chivi District, the concerned wards have a population of 38,644, while Masvingo Rural District has 35,422 people. However, about 3,652 households are more likely to be directly affected by development in the Tugwi-Mukosi development zone. Most of these households will be displaced,” reads part of the draft plan.

However, Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Permanent Secretary, Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, told TellZim News that relocation would be a last resort.

“The main thrust of the government is on reorganisation or rearrangement for affected families. Displacement would be a last resort. 

Government has a clear policy on the relocation of people affected by government programmes,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.

The Tugwi-Mukosi Master Plan outlines ambitious proposals for infrastructural, agricultural, tourism, and urban development around the dam, which was commissioned in 2017.

The government has for years promoted the area as a future economic hub for Zimbabwe’s southern region.

Still fresh in the minds of many are the traumatic displacements of 2014, when families were hastily evacuated due to rising waters.

Many of those resettled in Chingwizi continue to live in poor conditions, with limited access to basic services such as healthcare and education.

The new master plan envisions the creation of irrigation schemes, tourism lodges, fishery projects, urban housing developments, and upgraded road infrastructure to transform the dam’s catchment into a vibrant, multi-use economic zone.

TellZim