The depressing story of Hombolo dam

The famous African novel ‘No Longer at Ease’ by Nigeria’s seasoned author Chinua Achebe has something to tell in reference to the current sad situation at Dodoma’s famous dam, Hombolo.

Established by the colonial government way back in 1957 for irrigation, domestic water supply and watering livestock, the saline dam had for many years been enabling many people in the region to earn a living through fishing.

Given its economic background and the fact that the government was now shifting its seat to Dodoma, there has been a need for authorities in the region to ensure effective conservation of the dam with an eye to propelling economic activities in the area.

However, a recent special tour of the dam by The Citizen witnessed a serious shrink in water level at the region’s second dam, according to rankings, due to the establishment of grape plantations in the area, which is located some 63.6 kilometres from the capital city of Tanzania.

Dodoma Region is well known for favourable soil for agriculture and weather conditions for cultivating grapes, but so does it have rare fishing potential.

Such an undeniable fact has painted a negative picture on how authorities here have failed to think more wisely on how to preserve the historical water source.

Moreover, the region has limited water bodies due to its semi-aridity, with Mtera and Hombolo dams being the only two fish –producing water bodies.

“It’s very sad, especially when I recall the way we used to catch a variety of fish here in the past.

“Hundreds of people here used to bank on this dam for survival; but now there are not many fish remaing. This is due to a fall in water levels,” said Mr Justine Kiombo, a veteran fisherman at the dam.

He narrated sadly that contrary to the past currently the dam had nothing good to offer in terms of fish due to poor water volumes.

“Since the establishment of grape plantations here, most farmers have been using water from this dam to irrigate their crops, a practice which has seriously affected the volume of water here,” he told The Citizen.

Another fisherman, Mr Selemani Omary, said due to such negative impacts, most experienced fishermen in the fast-growing ward had finally opted to venture into grape cultivation.

“Only a few fishermen have remained here who are struggling, in vain, to catch the small fish available.

“Unfortunately, contrary to the good old days, even customers are no longer coming here as they are aware that the place has nothing better to offer, as opposed to the past,” he said.

A survey by The Citizen in the area found the mushrooming of small-scale wine factories.

While grape farmers sell their table and wine grapes to petty traders and other wine making factories in the region, the wine-makers sell their bottled products to a wide range of buyers.

Currently, there are more than 10 wine factories in Dodoma Region and by 2013 Tanzania’s Dodoma wine was ranked among Africa’s top five, challenging South Africa’s 350 years of dominance of the region’s wine business.

The established that most local buyers purchase a kilogram of grapes from between Sh800 and Sh1, 200 while foreign traders pay from Sh3, 500 to Sh4, 500 per a kilogram.

According to Dodoma District’s Agriculture Officer George Mhina, there are at least 2,107 grape farmers in the district, covering a total of 1,264 hectares, whereby the district’s production level for the crop stands at 7,945 tonnes per a year.

The Hombolo Dam is located at Hombolo-Bwawani Village in Dodoma Rural District.

During its construction many nearby villages were displaced and moved elsewhere.

The dam serves several villages including Hombolo-Bwawani, Zepisa, Mahomanyika, Chanzaga, Ngaegae, Mleche, Ghambala and Ipala. The word Bwawani literally means “to the dam” or “into the dam,” in Kiswahili.