BEITBRIDGE, Jan. 19 (NewsDay Live) – Matabeleland South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Albert Nguluvhe on Monday threatened to recommend the appointment of a commission to run Beitbridge if the municipality fails to come up with a lasting solution to flooding in low-lying areas of the border town.
Nguluvhe, who toured Beitbridge extensively, ordered the municipality to conclude long-delayed projects, including the Dulivhadzimu Bus Terminus, which has been under construction for several years.
He directed the Municipality of Beitbridge (MoB) to provide running water at the fresh produce market and to construct adequate toilets for the hundreds of traders and customers who use the facility daily.
Nguluvhe warned of a potential cholera outbreak if proper hygiene standards were not urgently addressed.
Inviting all stakeholders to join his tour, Nguluvhe adopted an uncompromising stance, warning that heads would roll if there was continued failure in service delivery.
He also instructed the local authority to revisit its budget and allocate more funds to service provision rather than workers’ salaries.
Nguluvhe gave the municipality three months to put its house in order and to outsource engineers to help resolve the town’s recurring flooding problems.
“We cannot keep sitting and discussing this forever. A solution must be found, and we must provide that solution ourselves. No one will do it for us. I am giving you three months to fix this. We must all work,” said Nguluvhe.
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He said all options should be explored, including the demolition of dilapidated flats housing 54 families, half of whom are employees of the Municipality of Beitbridge.
“You are collecting rent from those flats without improving them in any way. You take the money, and we do not know where it goes,” he said.
“You also earn about US$400 a day from bus parking fees. In 10 days, that is US$4,000. Do you think a contractor would refuse such an amount to complete the bus terminus?” Nguluvhe added.
He stressed the need for officials to focus on work, publicly calling out several council officials, including town clerk Loud Ramakgapola, town engineer Douglas Siphuma, and procurement officer Mkandla, whom he reprimanded for failing to procure basic items such as welding rods.
Ward 4 councillor Emmanuel Takutaku told Nguluvhe that he had repeatedly pleaded with officials to deploy a backhoe to desilt a drainage channel whose blockage had caused flooding.
“For more than six months, I have raised this issue in every meeting, asking for the channel to be desilted, but I am always told there are no welding rods,” said Takutaku.
Beitbridge remains vulnerable to flooding due to poor drainage infrastructure.
Ramakgapola, who at one point became emotional, said the municipality was financially distressed and struggling to operate.
“We need to think of alternative ways to address these challenges because we have discussed them before. Under our urban renewal programme, we have mapped all problem areas. We are also planning to relocate the Dulivhadzimu Police Base, which is also affected,” he said.
