Prior to the grabbing, Mazoe Citrus, which runs a thriving horticultural plantation in the area, had a 60% stake in the dam, while government held the remaining 40%. The dam was built in 1918 to irrigate the citrus plantation and other crops.
Grace, nicknamed Gucci Grace or First Shopper, had taken advantage of former president Bob
MuggsyMugabe
Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case. Dumped in November 2017 when the Missus decided she wanted to be president, and opposed heer might against Crocodile Mnangawa Important safety tip: If your opponent goes by the name Crocodileandf your title is
Shopper in Chieflet him win....
's iron grip on power to establish a vast empire in the area spanning mining, agriculture and an elite private school -- which she marketed as the centrepiece of her philanthropic work. After privatising the Mazowe Dam in July last year, Grace barred local villagers, who had relied on fishing, from accessing the water body.
She also banned recreational activities such as fishing, canoeing and rowing while also restricting the Zim-bob-we National Water Authority (Zinwa) from managing the dam.
Zinwa's acting corporate communications and marketing manager Tsungirirai Shoriwa confirmed that the authority now had "normal access" to the dam. "The ownership of Mazowe Dam has never been a contested issue at any time. Only access to the dam was restricted on account of security," Shoriwa said.
"The security situation has since been reviewed, allowing Zinwa normal access to Mazowe Dam."
Mugabe, who ruled Zim-bob-we for 37 years, was toppled amid dramatic scenes in November last year through a military coup. Water and Environment minister Oppah Muchinguri did not respond to questions sent to her.
Mazowe Dam, the country's 16th largest reservoir, has a capacity of 39,35 million cubic metres of water. The seizure and effective privatisation of the dam was unlawful as it violated the Water Act. The Act stipulates that water should not be privatised, although section 3 says "all water is vested in the President", suggesting Mugabe could have granted permission to his wife to take over the dam. Section 4 of the Act states that there should be no private ownership of water.
"No person shall be entitled to ownership of any water in Zim-bob-we and no water shall be stored, abstracted, apportioned, controlled, diverted, used or in any way dealt with except in accordance with this Act. (2) Subject to this Act, a permit issued in terms of this Act shall confer upon its holder a right to the use of water in accordance with the permit," it says.
This made Grace's move illegal, although the clause indicating that a sitting president has final authority on water left the issue open to a controversial interpretation.