Chimwe-Chegato Irrigation Scheme Armoured Cable Stolen Again Putting Functionality in Limbo: Heads Must Roll

By Dr Takavafira Zhou

The 124 plot holders in the Chimwe-Chegato Irrigation Scheme are at a loss at the constant derailing of their efforts to combat food insecurity as thefts of armoured cables and connecting kits have become routine rather than episodic.

At a crucial stage of their crop production in January 2024, 26 m of armoured cable and connecting kits were stolen. Subsequently, their crops wilted as no immediate solution was found to their challenge. The 2023-24 agricultural season was bad, thereby compounding food insecurity in Mberengwa.

The plot holders struggled to restore any cultivation as water could not be pumped to irrigate land for cultivation without electricity. Zesa, Mps Tafanana Zhou and Tinashe Shumba (Goga), senator Tsitsi Zhou, abandoned them or could not assist in the revitalisation of the irrigation scheme. Although, I am not a plot holder, I have many relatives who are plot holders and realized the importance of food security in a precarious year.

 I assisted the plot holders and bought the armoured cable and connecting kits in May 2024. The plot holders started their agricultural activity in the irrigation scheme starting with winter wheat ploughing and now had moved to maize. The various crops are at a critical stage of maturation, but thieves did strike again on Sunday night and this time stealing 70 m of armoured cable.

The thieves, reportedly had the temerity and luxury of not only removing the armoured cable, but also removing the outer layer of the cable in order to take the copper wires only. What is surprising, is that there is a guard who the plot holders employed after we supplied them with equipment. The guard, reportedly, was drinking at Takarangana on Sunday.

 He allegedly, reported for work drunk and slept, and the thieves had a field-night with the guard sleeping. One wonders if the guard was not enjoying the proceeds of theft as an accomplice. What is clear is that the thieves are working with local accomplices and the guard may be part of the team. It would seem Zeza personnel or former Zesa workers are also involved in the theft of armoured cables and transformers because the thievery is done smartly and by people with expertise in disconnecting electricity.

As much as I have advised the plot holders to report the case to the police and Zesa yesterday morning, no one had come to the scene of theft by 4.30 pm today. Such inepitudeness baffles logic and common sense. Is it a case of assisting the culprits to escape without trace?

Honestly, stealing 70m of armoured cable is no joke given the weight of the armoured cable. Five metres of armoured cable weighs about 40kg and 70 m is therefore more than 500kg. It would have been easy for the police to mount roadblocks in Mberengwa to apprehend the culprits if at all they were efficient. But their lackadaisical approach to thefts leaves a lot to be desired. Without an urgent solution to the armoured cable quandary food insecurity  under chiefs Mapiravana, Mposi, Mudavanhu, and Chingoma will be exacerbated, more so because of the paucity of food aid from the government.

There is an urgent need to ensure that the crops of the plot holders that are at a critical stages of maturation do not wilt. It is imperative that the government comes to the aid of the people of Mberengwa. All sons and daughters of Mberengwa across the political divide need to amplify the message and lobby the government to act with speed to assist the plot holders in the Chimwe-Chegato irrigation scheme. At any rate Mberengwa is rich in natural and human resources that must also filter to local communities’ efforts to establish credible small scale irrigation schemes that are vital in food security and improving the livelihoods of the general populace of Mberengwa.