Force Zimbabwe to repair Kariba Dam wall immediately before disaster strikes!
- by: Linn Hill
- recipient: Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Chairperson of the African Union
FEARS of a humanitarian disaster are growing as engineers warn that Africa’s mighty Kariba dam, opened by the Queen Mother in 1960, has developed severe structural faults.
A collapse would unleash 180bn tons of water from the largest man-made lake on the continent, sweeping thousands of hippos and crocodiles into an area of Zambia that is home to 3.5m people.
The torrent, which would engulf the capital, Lusaka, could then roar on into Mozambique and Malawi.
Much of southern Africa, which depends upon the dam’s turbines for electricity, would be plunged into darkness.
This month Felix Nkulukusa, permanent secretary at the Zambian finance ministry, told reporters that the wall of the dam had developed serious structural weaknesses. “We are told by engineers that if nothing is done in the next three years the dam may be swept away,” he said.
A Zimbabwean engineer at the dam, who did not wish to be named, told The Sunday Times last week that the vibrations are “downright scary” when the floodgate is opened to allow water to be discharged after heavy rains. “You can hear and feel the dam wall vibrate,” he said.
The water cascades into a plunge pool beneath the 420ft-high dam. It is supposed to be 30ft deep but has eroded at points to more than 250ft, potentially undermining the dam wall.
Adding to the problem is a risk of earthquakes. The dam is built at the southern end of the Rift Valley, a tectonically active area where there have been at least 20 quakes of a magnitude greater than 5.
Elizabeth Karonga of the Zambezi River Authority, which is jointly owned by Zambia and Zimbabwe, sought to allay fears but admitted that “the situation at the Kariba dam wall is cause for grave concern”.
Chris Yaluma, the Zambian minister of mines, energy and water, managed to spread further disquiet when he said: “There is no need to panic. The dam wall will not collapse overnight.” A collapse of the Kariba dam could trigger further disasters. Once the tidal wave of water reached Mozambique it would overwhelm the mighty Cahora Bassa dam and release another 51bn tons of water, making the spillage four times bigger than the largest on record.
The river authority regards repairs to the plunge pool as urgent and it is sufficiently worried about a failure of the floodgate to suggest the construction of a new emergency gate.
At least $250m is needed for the repairs. But Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe has kicked out the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and anyone else who might lend the money.
The Zambians are more optimistic and say the World Bank, the European Union and the African Development Bank are all likely to help. Even so, such repair work will not start for many months.
“People are worried, perhaps irrationally,” said Richard Maasdorp, a Zimbabwean engineer. “But they know the clock is ticking.”
FEARS of a humanitarian disaster are growing as engineers warn that Africa’s mighty Kariba dam, opened by the Queen Mother in 1960, has developed severe structural faults.
A collapse would unleash 180bn tons of water from the largest man-made lake on the continent, sweeping thousands of hippos and crocodiles into an area of Zambia that is home to 3.5m people.
The torrent, which would engulf the capital, Lusaka, could then roar on into Mozambique and Malawi.
Much of southern Africa, which depends upon the dam’s turbines for electricity, would be plunged into darkness.
This month Felix Nkulukusa, permanent secretary at the Zambian finance ministry, told reporters that the wall of the dam had developed serious structural weaknesses. “We are told by engineers that if nothing is done in the next three years the dam may be swept away,” he said.
A Zimbabwean engineer at the dam, who did not wish to be named, told The Sunday Times last week that the vibrations are “downright scary” when the floodgate is opened to allow water to be discharged after heavy rains. “You can hear and feel the dam wall vibrate,” he said.
The water cascades into a plunge pool beneath the 420ft-high dam. It is supposed to be 30ft deep but has eroded at points to more than 250ft, potentially undermining the dam wall.
Adding to the problem is a risk of earthquakes. The dam is built at the southern end of the Rift Valley, a tectonically active area where there have been at least 20 quakes of a magnitude greater than 5.
Elizabeth Karonga of the Zambezi River Authority, which is jointly owned by Zambia and Zimbabwe, sought to allay fears but admitted that “the situation at the Kariba dam wall is cause for grave concern”.
Chris Yaluma, the Zambian minister of mines, energy and water, managed to spread further disquiet when he said: “There is no need to panic. The dam wall will not collapse overnight.” A collapse of the Kariba dam could trigger further disasters. Once the tidal wave of water reached Mozambique it would overwhelm the mighty Cahora Bassa dam and release another 51bn tons of water, making the spillage four times bigger than the largest on record.
The river authority regards repairs to the plunge pool as urgent and it is sufficiently worried about a failure of the floodgate to suggest the construction of a new emergency gate.
At least $250m is needed for the repairs. But Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe has kicked out the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and anyone else who might lend the money.
The Zambians are more optimistic and say the World Bank, the European Union and the African Development Bank are all likely to help. Even so, such repair work will not start for many months.
“People are worried, perhaps irrationally,” said Richard Maasdorp, a Zimbabwean engineer. “But they know the clock is ticking.”
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