Paper/Proposal Title
New People, New Livelihoods after Tugwi Mukosi Dam Construction: A Case of Chingwizi Area in Mwenezi District in Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe
Location
M2225
Start Date
11-2-2023 1:45 PM
End Date
11-2-2023 3:15 PM
Keywords
Dam construction, Tugwe Mukosi, Resettlement, Resettlement, livelihoods, gender
Abstract
Using Cernea’s Impoverishment, Risk, and Reconstruction Model, the study examined the livelihoods of the Chingwizi residents of Mwenezi District in the aftermath of relocations from Masvingo District. According to this model, development-induced relocations culminate into landlessness, joblessness, loneliness, property, and social disarticulation. In recent years Zimbabwe has embarked on dam construction and other development projects which have displaced local populations. One such development was the construction of Tugwi Mukosi Dam which was perceived by the government to generate economic growth for the whole nation and Masvingo Province in particular. This is also an endogenous strategy by the government of Zimbabwe in pursuit of the right to development enshrined in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights article 22. This also resonates well with the government’s current thrust for Zimbabwe to attain an ‘Upper Middle Income’ economy by the year 2030. As a result of these relocations conflicts with affected communities has been inevitable. In cases where the government succeeded in relocating the affected communities new problems and new livelihoods have emerged in those new localities hence this study. Findings from the study indicate that relocated communities ended up in worse-off situations in the new localities with women and children suffering the most. The study also found that in the case of Chingwizi off- farm livelihoods apart from agriculture have emerged. The study recommends the government to come up with a relocation policy that incorporates the interests of all stakeholders.
Author/Speaker Biographical Statement(s)
Cephas Mandirahwe is a holder BA and MA in development studies from Midlands State University. He is a postgraduate student at Africa University. His research interest includes livelihoods, climate change, and the right to development in Zimbabwe. Cephas is a member of the Right to development international Forum. He has presented at more than a dozen international conferences in Zimbabwe and abroad. He has worked for the United Nation World Food Program and Restless Development Forum as a research supervisor. He has also received funding from UNDP and UNWTO to conduct research. He has worked for the Ministry of Health and Child Care as an Environmental Health Practitioner.
New People, New Livelihoods after Tugwi Mukosi Dam Construction: A Case of Chingwizi Area in Mwenezi District in Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe
M2225
Using Cernea’s Impoverishment, Risk, and Reconstruction Model, the study examined the livelihoods of the Chingwizi residents of Mwenezi District in the aftermath of relocations from Masvingo District. According to this model, development-induced relocations culminate into landlessness, joblessness, loneliness, property, and social disarticulation. In recent years Zimbabwe has embarked on dam construction and other development projects which have displaced local populations. One such development was the construction of Tugwi Mukosi Dam which was perceived by the government to generate economic growth for the whole nation and Masvingo Province in particular. This is also an endogenous strategy by the government of Zimbabwe in pursuit of the right to development enshrined in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights article 22. This also resonates well with the government’s current thrust for Zimbabwe to attain an ‘Upper Middle Income’ economy by the year 2030. As a result of these relocations conflicts with affected communities has been inevitable. In cases where the government succeeded in relocating the affected communities new problems and new livelihoods have emerged in those new localities hence this study. Findings from the study indicate that relocated communities ended up in worse-off situations in the new localities with women and children suffering the most. The study also found that in the case of Chingwizi off- farm livelihoods apart from agriculture have emerged. The study recommends the government to come up with a relocation policy that incorporates the interests of all stakeholders.
