Investment activities at Tokwe Mukosi Dam continue to be limited to fish poaching and school bus tourism by pupils from schools around the country. There is a deafening silence from the government and the investment community on bigger avenues of economic activity despite the pomp and fanfare that accompanied the commissioning of the dam by then President Robert Mugabe.
Investment analysts who spoke on condition of anonymity submitted it's important to factor in how previous economic policies negatively affected investor atti tudes to Zimbabwe.
'The current political administration system is doing much to clean up the country's image but it may take some time before the efforts begin to register results.
The 51-49 principle did a lot of damage. The stay away are adding salt to injury. So we have a lot of work to. A good starting point maybe to engage internal existing
investors to offer them incentives so that they invest at the water facility.’ Transport logistics mogul hotelier and industrialist Solomon Matsa believes the culture of stay away is national suicide.
'Let's have positivity among our people to ensure we pull together in one direction of developing our country.
Fighting each other for political positions will not take us anywhere. We will struggle generation to generation and leave no inheritance for our children. When electioneering is over, we have one President. Where he goes wrong let's correct him – we must not shy away from telling him the truths. Zimbabweans are educated people which makes it easy for people to be peaceful.
We have many natural resources and very good weather, lots of water – even the human resources is top notch. We have to work on accountability and national integrity.'
The Tokwe Mukosi dam has capacity to irrigate 25 000 hectares.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that ethanol concern Green Fuel snatched the Tokwe- Mukosi water rights for a sugar cane to ethanol project in Nuanetsi but to date there is no evidence of movement towards the cane infrastructure.
Similarly table sugar giants Tongaat Hullet are reportedly planning massive expansion work with reliance on water from Tokwe Mukosi- but the province is yet to witness these developments.
The Government has revealed the Infrastrucuture Bank of Zimbabwe has completed a masterplan which will soon be unveiled to guide investments around the water body.
Mean the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has commenced work at the Tokwe Mukosi by stocking the dam with various types of aqua life including fisheries.
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