On the 15th of July 2025 Zimbabwe’s Senator Mavenyengwa presented a Motion in Parliament calling for unity in support of the national agenda. In the presentation of the motion, the Senator made this erroneous statement:
“In the face of climate change and its unpredictable weather patterns, the construction of dams, such as the Tugwi Mukosi Dam, stands out as a strategic intervention by the Second Republic to ensure water security and enhance resilience in our agricultural activities.” (Hansard 15 July 2025)
In the interest of promoting transparency and accountability in the water governance sector, Voices for Water has Fact Checked this statement and makes these verified points of correction:
(1) Tugwi Mukosi Dam (or Tokwe Mukosi Dam) construction began in June 1998 and was completed in December 2016 and Commissioned by the then President Robert Mugabe on 18 May 2017.
(2) A Statement issued by the then Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) corporate communications officer Mr Tsungirirai Shoriwa in January 2017 reiterated that ‘Tokwe-Mukosi Dam was completed on December 10 last year (2016) and as of January 17, 2017, the dam held 210 million cubic metres of water’.
(3) The President Mnangagwa led Second Republic came into office on November 2017 after the ouster of the Robert Mugabe administration
Based on these facts, it is therefore not factual for the Senator to claim and attribute the construction of Zimbabwe’s largest inland dam (Tugwi Mukosi Dam) as the intervention of the Second Republic.
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