The Komati Basin Development Project

The Komati Basin Development Project

The Government of Swaziland has as a primary objective the alleviation of poverty within the country. A project has been identified which has the potential to dramatically improve the living standards of the rural farming communities within the Komati River Basin. The scheme will affect some 20,000 people who now make their living from subsistence farming in an area encompassing 24,000 hectares.

The prospects for this area, without a substantial investment in irrigation, are poor. The area has a low and erratic rainfall and a long dry season. It is heavily used by livestock, yet contains too few well-nourished cattle to plough timely. The present dryland arable farming brings a less than subsistence return and is not sustainable. Unemployment, child malnutrition and soil erosion are widespread. Fortunately, irrigation in the area will allow a sustainable 10-fold increase in the productivity of suitable land.

On completion in the year 2006, the project will have assisted in the creation of smallholder farmers associations who will be cultivating sugar cane and other crops on 7400 hectares of irrigated fields.

The cornerstone of the scheme is participation by affected persons in the design and implementation of the social, legal and economic structures required to ensure a successful project throughout the lifetimes of the target people. The Government of Swaziland intends that all affected people benefit in some way from the project.

The Government has set up a public enterprise, the Swaziland Komati Project Enterprise, to implement the project. The Government's principles of environmental protection and wealth generation through participation of the poor are enshrined in SKPE's charter.

The first part of the project is the development of the Maguga Dam. The construction of this is at present underway through finance provided by both the issue of bonds and loans from the Swaziland Pensions Fund and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Some 83 million cubic meters of irrigation water will be made available annually starting from mid 2001 for use in the development of the Komati Basin within Swaziland.

The second part of the project is the development of the Komati Basin using the water from Maguga Dam. It is this project that requires funding.

The third part of the project is the expansion of the Mhlume sugar mill to accommodate the additional 80,000 tonnes of sugar annually from the smallholder farms. This development is being undertaken by the private sector.

The Government of Swaziland is seeking finance, estimated at E385 Million over 5 years, to bring the nation's vision to reality.

Further Details

Further details of the project can be obtained from: