Disaster preparedness and management mechanisms in zimbabwe. Analysis of vulnerability to flood disaster in kano state, nigeria aliyu baba nabegu department of geography, kano university of science and technology, wudil. There was little sign of that preparedness as disaster unfolded due to. Government fails to compensate tokwemkosi flood victims. Award winning journalist and itv news africa producer hopewell rugohochinono looks at zimbabwes tokwi mukosi flood disaster. Tokwe mukosi disaster which was declared by the president of zimbabwe to be a national disaster. The impact of disasters is now known to be devastating basing on the tokwe mukosi disaster. Research from the tokwe mukosi disasters shows that there is poor. The tokwemukorsi dam project was intended to be the solution for the irrigation and electricity issues surrounding the communities of masvingo province in. Tokwe mukosi floods a call to action zimbabwe reliefweb.
Tokwemukosi dam is a concrete faced rockfill, or cfrd. Efast is managed by the actionaid international humanitarian action and resilience team ihart as. This collage shows cattle stuck in mud following heavy floods in the tokwemukosi dam flood basin. This will assist in raising awareness and letting people know. Tokwe mukosi dam is also poised to become a major tourist attraction owing to the dams sheer size and topography. Tokwe mukosi manmadedisaster cannot just be wished away. The analysis has led to the emergency of an assortment of narratives ranging from the livelihoods perspective, internal displacement perspective, conspiracy perspective, political perspective and the legal perspective. Community action and partnerships with local government have not been central, not just to speedup and reduce risk but also in responding to impact and shaping recovery in ways that can strengthen local livelihoods and quality of life. Giving birth in exile after tokwemukosi disaster the flashes of cameras momentarily blind veronica chambwera and her onedayold baby, who is squirming in the suffocating heat. Zimbabwe tokwemukorsi flood victims suffer human rights.
Moreover, the rivers tokwe and mukosi have also enhanced community migration through the construction of tokwemukosi dam. Progress was slow while costs escalated mainly due to corrupt financial greed that had to be satisfied first. The tokwe mukorsi dam is a concreteface rockfill dam on the tokwe river, just downstream of its confluence with the mukorsi river, about 72 km 45 mi south of masvingo in masvingo province, zimbabwe. The purpose of this paper is to examine vulnerability conditions to flood disasters in tokwemukorsi community, zimbabwe and identifies the barriers that constrained the community from relocating to safe sites. It is 75km south of masvingo and access to the site is via ngundu triangle road. The untold story of tokwe mukosi march 24, 2014 in news untold human suffering and congestion at chingwizi transit camp could have been avoided if government had not carried out a wholesale eviction of people living near tokwemukosi dam project. Flood disaster victims turn on each other at chingwizi. The discovery of the dam was done way back by the colonial government as a result of the good catchment area offered by the intersection of these two rivers. A report from human rights watch claims that the zimbabwe government has used violence, harassment, and the deliberate restriction of humanitarian aid to coerce an estimated 20,000 flood victims to resettle on tiny land plots where the government plans to establish a sugar cane plantation the 20,000 flood victims were forced from their homes after the flooding in the tokwemukorsi dam. Therefore there should be the establishment of civil protection.
Masvingo provincial affairs minister kudakwashe bhasikiti has conceded that the 18 000 villagers displaced by the tokwemukosi dam floods and housed at the chingwizi holding camp in nuanetsi ranch are among the most traumatised people in the country. State of disaster declared in masvingo province of. These are children of villagers who were forcibly evicted from their homesteads in the tokwe mukorsi flood basin and left exposed to the vagaries of weather at muzvidziwa bus stop, about 85km along the masvingobeitbridge highway. Analysis of vulnerability to flood disaster in kano. The decision by the government of zimbabwe to relocate families after a dam flooding disaster at tokwe was met with criticism as the move worsened the situation of most relocated families who claim that the government disregarded their needs. By ratifying the convention, zimbabwe became obliged to follow the stipulations of the convention which include protecting and assisting idps, as highlighted in article 5 1 which says states bear primary duty and responsibility for providing protection and assistance to. In ancient times traditional leadership was considered a refuge in terms of disasters. Pdf the spatiotemporal variation of the 2014 tokwe. Human rights lawyers are hereby invited to take up a class action, not only on the chingwizi camp disaster, but on all pieces of. The tokwemukosi dam construction project has taken ages to complete.
There is always apparently extensive media coverage of humanitarian crisis that follow any disaster, be it earthquake, floods, cyclones amongst others around the. It is believed it would take at least five years for the tokwe mukosi dam to fill up to capacity. It featured several former big brother contestants in cameo roles, including eugene sully, kinga karolczak, makosi musambasi and saskia howardclarke from big brother 6. Tokwemukosi dam is situated at the confluence of tokwe and mukosi rivers in chivi south district, masvingo province. The release of money towards the construction of tokwemukosi dam is over and above other community development projects tongaat is involved in. Construction on the dam began in june 1998 but stalled in 2008.
Digital journal has been following closely events surrounding the tokwe mukorsi dam in the. The events that followed the tokwe mukosi floods and the resultant displacements have been subjected to a multiplicity of analysis. In masvingo, the partially completed tokwemukosi dam unexpectedly and. You are going to masvingo today to do a rapid assessment on the tokwemukosi floods disaster. The plight of zimbabwes tokwemukorsi flood victims a woman stands in front of a pile of her household property at chingwizi transit camp, which the government forcibly shut down in august 2014. Food production in region cannot be sustained by rain. Disasters in the form of flooding continuously contribute to loss in human.
The torrential rains and flooding over the past two weeks at the tokwemurkosi dam in southcentral zimbabwe that have affected more than 22,000 people in the dams basin and about 40,000 downstream of the wall has led to the basin of tokwemurkosi dam and areas downstream as far as the triangle area being declared a state of disaster by president mugabe, enabling government to mobilise. The concrete face slab is generally constructed after the rockfill embankment is complete, or is at least well in advance. Tokwe mukosi dam is located at the confluence of the tokwe and mukosi rivers, and the dam straddles the boundary of chivi and masvingo south districts in masvingo province. From ngundu, one travels about 16 km towards triangle and then turns left to reach the. Tokwemkosi disaster relived the herald herald zimbabwes. Tokwemukorsi victims lose hope of rebuilding the tokwemukorsi flood victims camped at chingwizi transit camp in nuanetsi ranch in the lowveld are facing a host of problems.
The disaster was as a result of the heavy rains in late january and early february as well as the partial collapse of the tokwe mukosi dam wall which resulted in flooding in the tokwe mukosi area. Partially collapsed tokwemukosi dam in pictures nehanda. Thousands of people have been evacuated after torrential rains caused the partial collapse of the tokwemukosi dam, currently under. Housemates makosi and craig returned to big brother in 2009 as part of a retrospective week of that series, involving tasks from all previous series of big brother. Construction of tokwemukosi dam in zimbabwe near completion. Please use this page to share information about the tokwe mukosi disaster. The plight of zimbabwes tokwemukorsi flood victims.
Stakeholder coordination in the tokwe mukosi disaster response. George maponga in chivi tokwemukosi dam has so far collected nearly one billion cubic metres of water, enough to irrigate over 17 000 hectares, amid calls for government to speedily set up irrigation schemes in southern masvingo. A national disaster was declared by the president on the 9th of february in order to mobilise more resources to assist affected families. In this blog post, amod gives us insight into his experience as a standup comedian, the lessons learned, and how improv classes can help with your. Business reporter the update on feasibility study of the proposed tokwe mukosi irrigation scheme, has been completed and now awaits input from government, officials have said. Nongovernmental organisations, challenges, disasterinduced relocations, chingwizi, zimbabwe. Advise parliamentarians on the plan of action to achieve humanitarian intervention in the most amicable way possible, even suggesting better strategies than were actually employed and how you could have done things differently. Zimbabwes tokwemukosi dam to undergo reconstruction.
Lingering hardships after tokwe mukosi floods dailynews live. The impact of disasters is now known to be devastating basing on the tokwe. The tokwe mukorsi dam is a concreteface rockfill dam on the tokwe river, just downstream of its confluence with the mukorsi river, about 72 kilometres 45 mi south of masvingo in masvingo province, zimbabwe. Salini impregilo 2016 click to view map of tokwemukorsi dam and nuanetsi ranch credits. Human rights watch, 2015 click to view a woman stands in front of a pile of her household property at chingwizi transit camp, which the. The spatiotemporal variation of the 2014 tokwemukosi floods. This dam type comprises a rockfill embankment, with a concrete slab on the upstream face to create the impermeable barrier. The plight of zimbabwes tokwemukorsi flood victims hrw. Umesh raj international journal of research ijr page 2. He is currently on assignment at deutsche bank working as a business analyst. Report on tokwe mukosi flood disaster 2014 compiled by lameck betera.
Flood vulnerability and relocation readiness in zimbabwe. Makosis monthly blog is highlighting amod vaze who has been with us for almost a year. The aftermath of zimbabwes tokwemukorsi dam disaster. Thus, though there were donations of sanitary pads by individuals like makosi musambasi. This will assist in raising awareness and letting people know how. Rapid assessment report for tokwe mukosi emergency country. Therefore there should be the establishment of civil protection committees at community level to national level with clear terms of reference to improve the response rate, when disasters strike. Traditional leadership and the tokwemukosi induced displacements. Homeless, landless, and destitute 2 today, a year after the disaster, these 3,300 families are completely dependent on aid for food and shelter on nuanetsi ranch, and. The tokwe mukorsi dam is a concreteface rockfill dam on the tokwe river, just downstream. The information on tokwe mukosi flood disaster lessons learned was gathered through a guided field tour, presentations by key stakeholders involved.