Itayi Dzamara's 2007 Article Explains How Zanu PF Bigwigs Looted Funds Meant To Solve The Harare Water Crisis

The missing activist and Journalist Itayi Dzamara on 1 March 2007 wrote an article on how funds that had been donated to build a dam 20kms EAst of Harare disappeared prolonging the Harare water crisis which is still dominant 12 years later. Writing for the Zimbabwean Dzamara wrote:

As serious water problems continue to haunt residents of metropolitan Harare, it has emerged that donated funds for the Kunzvi Dam project have been systematically looted over the past couple of years.
The project was mooted a decade ago as a way of averting water problems for the capital and its satellite towns by constructing a dam some 20km east of Harare.

Investigations reveal that donations provided by Russia, Iran and the UK have all been either channelled to other self-serving projects by the Zanu (PF) government or looted by high-ranking government officials.

Sources within the ministry of Water and Infrastructure Development said the recently appointed minister, Munacho Mutezo, had “unearthed a real scandal”. Mutezo is making concerted efforts to find solutions to Harare’s chronic water and sewage reticulation problems. He declined to open the can of worms when contacted by The Zimbabwean this week, saying “a lot has been happening and some things have hampered progress”.

Sources privy to goings-on in Mutezo’s ministry and those at the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) said he could expose the looting, which is likely to implicate Vice President Joice Mujuru, who served for a long time in the ministry of water resources and is reported to have received a many donations during her tenure.

“If it weren’t for corruption the Kunzvi Dam Project could have taken off by now,” a highly placed source said. “Inquiries have shown that a lot of donated funds were clearly not used for the intended purpose.”
A former government minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed it as a Zanu (PF) culture “that of taking donated funds to use on projects such as training of militia or hosting Independence celebrations”. He added that government was culpable for not taking the Kunzvi project seriously despite the growing water problems for Harare “because most chefs have wells at their homes”

The Harare water crisis has persisted with 2019 being the most difficult year as the city once closed down the water plant due to lack of treatment chemicals.

More: The Zimbabwean