Zimbabwe has signed a $20 million loan agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for Zhove Irrigation Project, which will go a long way in unlocking the potential of the dam and the surrounding area.
BY TARISAI MANDIZHA
The loan agreement was signed on Friday by Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa and Hamad Al-Omar, deputy director-general of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chinamasa said the total cost of the project was $35,7 million, of which government would contribute $7 million. He said the balance of $8,7 million would likely come from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
Chinamasa said the loan facility would support production of citrus fruits, in particular, as well as other cash and food crops such as maize and sugar beans, among others.
He said the production of these crops “should lead to enhanced socio-economic development, including creating income-generating opportunities for farmers, thereby contributing to poverty alleviation for the beneficiary communities in the southern part of our country”.
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The irrigation project is in Matabeleland South province.
Chinamasa said managing the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity was a top priority for Zimbabwe as productivity was being hampered by erratic rainfall patterns and severe droughts experienced mainly in the southern parts of the country.
“The current season has turned out to be much better owing to above normal rains that we have received and the records show that Zhove Dam is 100% full. However, lack of investment in irrigation infrastructure means that the country will not fully utilise this water for some time. Therefore, this agreement will go a long way in unlocking the potential of Zhove Dam and the surrounding area,” he said.
Chinamasa said Zimbabwe had been in arrears with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development since 2002 due to socio-economic and financial problems that bedevilled the economy.
Since independence in 1980, the Kuwait Fund has advanced loans and grants to Zimbabwe amounting to $60,8 million, of which $58,9 million were targeting projects in agriculture, road and rail transport and $1,9 million for technical assistance to finance feasibility studies for Kundu, Silverstone and Marovanyati small-scale dams.