In the early 1990s, Zimbabwe embarked on a process of water reform which culminated
in the enactment of the 1998 Water Act [Chapter 20:24]. The 1998 water act emphasizes
stakeholder participation in water utilization and management. The process which led to
the promulgation of the 1998 Water Act was supposed to involve the participation and
consultation of all the groups of stakeholders. This was going to make the majority of the
stakeholders become aware of the water governance transformation and the provisions of
the new legislation. This article thus, explores stakeholder knowledge about the water
governance transformation in Zimbabwe. The paper shows that the majority of the
stakeholders in general and those from the agricultural sector in particular do not have
much knowledge about the 1998 Water Act, Subcatchment Councils and Catchment
Councils. Moreover, the stakeholders do not know their representatives on water
governance institutions. They also do not have any knowledge about how their
representatives were elected. The data presented in this article was collected from the
Middle Manyame Subcatchment area which falls under the Manyame Catchment
Council.