FORMER Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) chairperson Michael Ndoro is up in arms with the national water body after it entered into an agreement with a Chinese company to use water from his farm.
Ndoro, who is also a former treasurer at Upper Manyame Sub-Catchment Council, has a private dam at his Utopia Farm in Melfort.
He alleged that there was illegal extraction of water from his privately-owned dam with the full approval of Zinwa.
Ndoro reported the matter through a letter seen by NewsDay to Zinwa acting chief executive Taurai Maurukira dated May 13, 2024.
“This weir was built by National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) on a servitude land provided by Utopia Farm (ourselves] the current permitted water users from the weir are NRZ and Utopia Farm as per the water permit issued by Upper Manyame Sub-Catchment Council,” he submitted.
“As a responsible citizen and a stakeholder in water resource management, I feel compelled to report this egregious violation of water regulations and seek swift action from your esteemed authority.
“It has come to my attention that a pump house has been installed at the Utopia Farm weir located in Melfort on a water agreement apparently signed with Zinwa as opposed to Upper Manyame Sub-Catchment Council, who are the responsible authority in such matters.”
He said the “unauthorised extraction of water” posed a “significant threat and insecurity to the ecosystem and the surrounding community’s access to water” for both their livelihoods and livestock.
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“As custodians of Zimbabwe’s water resources, it is imperative that Zinwa takes immediate action to investigate and address this unlawful activity and take appropriate enforcement measures to halt the illegal extraction of water from the private weir,” Ndoro said.
Zinwa spokesperson Marjorie Munyonga said there was no private water in the country.
“The Zinwa, in the execution of its work, is guided by the provisions of the law, in particular the Water Act [Chapter 20:24] and the Zinwa Act [Chapter 20:25]. In accordance with section 4 of the Water Act, there is no private ownership of water in Zimbabwe, while section 3 of the same Act vests all water in the President,” she said.
“Following the land reform programme, the law further vested the management of dams at ‘acquired farms’ to Zinwa.
“Zinwa is, therefore, mandated to ensure the sustainable and equitable access and utilisation of water from the dams to aid socio-economic development.”
Ndoro, however, claimed to have in his possession a water permit granted by Zinwa to him as one of the two sole users of the private dam.
He said there was nowhere in the Water Act where the water body has authority to enter into water agreements to private companies to extract water on dams constructed on farms.
