An agreement on diverting the waters of the Zambezi river is about to be signed in Malaysia on Saturday, although there has been no public discussion on the matter in Mozambique, a country whose vital interests could be seriously affected by any significant lessening in the flow of the Zambezi.
The project is to take water from the Zambezi and pump it over 450 kilometres to the Zimbabwean city of Bulawayo and other parts of Matabeleland province. According to a Friday news item from the Malaysian news agency Bernama, the Saturday signing will be to set up a 600 million US dollar joint venture between an unnamed Malaysian company and the Matabeleland Zambezi Water authority.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is in Malaysia to attend the International Smart Partnership Dialogue, will witness the signing, as will Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmed Badawi.
According to Bernama, the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Authority will hold a 20 percent stake in the project while the Malaysian company will have an 80 percent stake.
When AIM contacted a prominent Mozambican scientist, he said that the news of the imminent signing took him "completely by surprise".
He pointed out that any decision to divert Zambezi water could not be taken unilaterally by Zimbabwe, but should be the subject of thorough studies and prior consultations with all countries in the Zambezi basin.
The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project is not a new idea.
British colonialists first dreamed of irrigating Matabeleland with Zambezi water almost a century ago. But to date the project has not got off the drawing board because of the huge costs.
600 million dollars is nowhere near enough. The latest estimate of costs that AIM has seen is 30 billion US dollars. The initial estimate for how much water will be removed from the Zambezi is two per cent of lowest flow of the river - and an average, over the entire year, of 0.25 per cent.
While these figures do not sound large, they could easily prove under- estimates - especially as the impact of global warming is likely to diminish the total amount of water in the Zambezi. The Zambezi is crucial to the economy of Mozambique. It is the source of power for the Cahora Bassa dam, and for the planned Mepanda Ncua dam further downstream. Its waters are vital for food and cash crops in four provinces through which it runs. In one way or another millions of Mozambicans depend on the river for their livelihood.
The Zambezi is the largest river basin in Africa. Even countries that are not on its banks (notably South Africa) covet its water. It is urgent that mechanisms are set up that ensure sustainable management of the river to accommodate the interests of all riparian states.
Fonte: AIM
