When Ian Hume, a former World Bank executive, heard that the USA’s development finance corporation was ramping up its activities in Africa to counter China, he had a great idea.
He would try to convince the Americans to help fund a dam to supply his parched boyhood city, Bulawayo. A consortium of three Zimbabwean companies plans to raise US$100 million to build the dam, which they would run privately for 25 years before handing over to the government. They hired Hume to act as their lobbyist in the US.
But the US has turned down the proposal, after a series of lobbying efforts that shows how complex it is for Zimbabweans looking to do business with American entities.
Hume’s plan started in 2021, when he wrote to the US International Development Corporation (DFC), an agency of the US government, asking if they would consider funding a dam in Zimbabwe, despite the strained relations between the two countries. This is according to notes attached to Hume’s filing with the US Department of Justice, which registers foreign lobbyists.
“IMH (Hume) was the initiator of the first discussions of the possibility of US funding for projects in Zimbabwe after reading press reports of the Biden administration’s revamping of OPIC (the Overseas Private Investment Corporation) into what is now the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in mid-2021, whose principal aim was described as countering the Chinese BRI initiative by offering infrastructure funding for projects in developing countries, with an emphasis on Africa,” says the filing.
The DFI wrote back, telling Hume: “While the DFC is able to support projects in Zimbabwe and we are open to that prospect, given relevant U.S. government sanctions/restrictions we currently would focus on private sector efforts, rather than on projects involving government ownership/offtake.”
That gave Hume some hope. Glass Block Bopoma Dam Company (GBBDC), a consortium of Zimbabwean businesses, approached Hume. They plan to build a dam, Glass Block Bopoma Dam in Filabusi, to supply Bulawayo. The consortium is made up of JR Goddard, project managers Sesani, and financial advisory firm Genesis Global Finance.
They were anxious to assure the US that the government was not directly part of the project, stressing: “During the construction and 25-year concession period the project will be entirely private with the government having no operational role, save regulatory oversight, and will not share in revenues.”
Hume showed a concern shared by Zimbabwean businesses in the country – sovereign risk. He noted that the “country context in which Zimbabwe currently operates is fraught with sensitivities” such as sanctions and poor governance. Hume pointed out that the DFC’s decision would likely be influenced by the sanctions regime under the Magnitsky Act and the Zimbabwe Development and Economy Recovery Act (ZIDERA), but hoped the project would “lead to a new development in the relations between the US Government and Zimbabwe.”
‘Smoke and mirrors’
To ease Bulawayo’s water crisis, the government started building the Gwayi-Shangani dam wall in 2018. However, the project has been stalled by poor funding. Peter Edmeades, an engineer who is part of the proposed Glass Block project, told Hume that he didn’t see the Gwayi dam project working. The Bopoma project, he said, was a better bet.
“I honestly think that this (Gwayi) is a smoke and mirrors ‘project’ by government. While the dam is under construction, the pipeline is seen as a very long-term possibility, with too many financial, electrical and logistical constraints,” Edmeades said in an email to Hume on June 18 this year. “A far more realistic medium-term project in support of water for Bulawayo is the Glass Block dam.”
The new project would have a better chance of success now that David Coltart was mayor, Edmeades believed. “Now that David Coltart is our mayor, there seems to be more commitment for this project, valued at approximately US$100m. It has central Govt approval as well.”
In June, the consortium still had hope, but there was growing caution in the emails. Hume wrote to Neil Wolhuter of JR Goddard, giving feedback from DFC. “They say they are limiting investments in Zim right now but are prepared to assess projects on a case-by-case basis. I feel that Glass Block should please them, but we shall see.”
However, reality hit. Earlier this September, it became clear that the lobbying hadn’t worked. Hume reported: “It was during that virtual meeting that Ms (Rashanda) Johnson conveyed to the registrant (Hume) that DFC would not be moving forward with the GBBDC project.”
After failing to secure the funding for the consortium, Hume filed again with the Department of Justice – but this time to cancel his registration as a lobbyist for the dam.
