The Southern Rhodesian Government Clearly Does Not Give a Dam!
Figure 1: Kariba Dam
Source: Institute of Civil Engineers
The image and title of this blog post probably infers what this post will discuss and is suggestive of my view on the construction of the Kariba Dam.
The Kariba Dam is located on the fourth largest river basin in Africa – the Zambezi River basin which drains area estimated area of 1,350 km2and spans eight countries including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, and Mozambique (Tumbare, 2021). The plains have significant hydroelectric-power potential and are ecological rich (Tumbare, 2021; Mashingaidze, 2013). The area of the Zambezi River basin is shown below.
Figure 2: Area of Zambezi River Basin
Source: Beilfuss, 2012
Countries lying within the basin particularly, Zimbabwe, rely heavily on copper mining. Thus, in 1958 construction of the Kariba Dam was given the green light by the Southern Rhodesian government, funded by the World Bank (Mashingaidze, 2013). The dam would supply Zambia’s prosperous copper industry with hydroelectric power (Musonda, 2008).
Impact of the Kariba Dam on food security
The construction the world’s largest man-made dam required displacement of communities (Musonda, 2008). The colonist government forced 57,000 Gwembe Tonga people out of the Zambezi Valley into the infertile, dry and tsetse fly infested uplands of the Binga District (Musonda, 2008; Mashingaidze, 2013). Marginalization of the Tonga people in decision-making and relocation onto infertile land threaten food security. With access to water severely restricted and displacement from fertile to less fertile land meant the Tonga could no longer produce agricultural products and significantly decreased yields. Considering agricultural products characterise the livelihood of most rural people (Mwangala, 2020), such projects like the construction of the Kariba Dam can indeed result in destabilization of a significant magnitude and ‘plugs economic lifeline’ (Kaluba and Mukupe, 2000).
Great post! Loved how you layed your blog very clear in the very beginning and the way you put the construction of the Kariba Dam as 'plugs economic lifeline'.
ReplyDeleteNice post! Would be nice if you signposted and subheaded the different aspects you will touch on. A conclusion would nicely wrap up the blog. Damns play a huge role in food in Africa so would be great to see you develop this further in future blogs. A interesting dam would be GERD!
ReplyDelete