Zapu leader and chairperson of the Matebeleland Zambezi Water Trust, Dumiso Dabengwa, has accused Minister of Home Affairs and Culture Obert Mpofu of sabotaging the Zambezi water project. Dabengwa alleged that when Mpofu was serving as Minister of Mines, he disregarded a directive from former president Robert Mugabe to allocate the trust a special mining concession to fund the project. The Zambezi project was meant to supply water to Bulawayo and western parts of Zimbabwe. Said Dabengwa,
Sometime, the MZWT approached former president Mugabe seeking funding and prioritisation of the water project. Mugabe indicated that the government did not have money for the project but advised us to start a special coal or methane gas concession in Matebeleland North to generate revenue for the project.
Mugabe actually said the region has got enough resources to fully fund the project without any external or government assistance.
…After Mugabe’s directive, we wrote a letter to Mpofu asking him for the special mining grant which Mugabe had acceded to. However, Mpofu never responded to our request up to this very day.
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