“It’s in your hands” – An Analysis of Stakeholder Participation in Water Resources Management in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the Manyame Catchment

The paper makes an analysis of effective stakeholder1 participation in water management in Zimbabwe, which was facilitated by the enactment of a new Water Act in 1998. Prior to the promulgation of the act, water management was the responsibility of the central government through the Ministry of Water. Attempts to involve stakeholders in water management issues had been done through the establishment of River Boards which were however not compulsory and also covered parts of some catchment areas. These were composed of a few people with interest in water issues, drawn largely from large-scale commercial farming areas. The majority indigenous population was disenfranchised with respect to accessing agricultural water. The study was conducted by means of a case study of Manyame catchment for the period March 2002 to March 2005. The analysis focuses on functions and responsibilities assigned to the institutions according to the new Water Act as well as their capacity in relation to information, knowledge and technical ability for the period. Results from the study reveal that while legislation has attempted to involve the previously marginalized groups in water management issues, this has not resulted in their meaningful participation in water management issues. This situation calls for the present government to revisit the issue of water governance in order to facilitate full participation by all stakeholders