by NQOBANI MATHIBELA
GWANDA – A ONCE-PROMISED US$172.8 million solar power plant near Gwanda in Matabeleland South has become a symbol of neglect under the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and the ruling ZANU‑PF government.
Awarded in 2015 to Wicknell Chivayo’s company, Intratrek Zimbabwe, in partnership with China’s ChiNT Electric, the 100 MW solar project should have transformed power supply in the under-served region.
Instead, early works were limited to US$5.7 million of paid pre-commencement funds, and the site remains overgrown and abandoned. (
The promised industry-boost, job creation, reliable electricity and economic uplift for Gwanda and Matabeleland South never materialised.
Councillor Siyanda Siziba at the time said residents “feel betrayed… the land is just fenced bush… the jobs did not come”.
If the plant had been completed, Gwanda would have benefited from a stable, locally-generated power supply, attracting manufacturing, mining services and reducing dependence on diesel generators already crippling local firms.
Instead, power cuts of 18-30 hours remain common in the region.
Why has Chivayo not been arrested or held to account? The project whispers of corruption, tender-inflation and elite capture.
While ZPC attempted to terminate the contract in 2018 for non-performance, legal battles dragged until a 2023 Supreme Court judgement forced a contractual reinstatement, without public arrests.
Residents and analysts fault the ZANU-PF government for shielding politically connected contractors like Chivayo, while Matabeleland remains chronically underserved.
As Gwanda watches its fortunes slip past, the failed solar project stands as a potent reminder: when the government prioritises politics over infrastructure, regions like Matabeleland pay the price.
