The delays by government in disbursing money for projects that will provide a short term solution to Bulawayo’s crippling water shortages has left the city council largely incapable of dealing with the crisis, the mayor David Coltart has said.
Bulawayo has been on the throes of a serious water crisis since last year after the country experienced one of the worst droughts in living memory, which was attributed to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
Two of the city’s six supply dams namely Umzingwane and Upper Ncema were decommissioned last year after they ran dry. Council is also constrained from pumping enough water due to frequent power cuts and limited infrastructure.
In November last year, the government said it was releasing US$1.5 million to help address water shortages in Bulawayo.
The government had earlier promised $1 million towards the rehabilitation of water infrastructure at Inyankuni and Umzingwane water stations to help augment supplies of the commodity. The money is yet to reach the council coffers.
Coltart said council’s plans to address the water shortages were mostly beyond its control.
“Our plans to deliver water are largely dependent on factors beyond our control, namely rain, government providing money for pipeline upgrades and government stopping rampant illegal gold panning in our catchment areas,” he told Southern Eye on Sunday.
There is rampant gold mining in the catchment areas for the city’s supply dams, which are located in Matabeleland South.
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The government late last year banned river bank mining, which had become a huge threat to the city’s dams, but gold panners remain a menace in the catchment areas for most of the city’s supply dams.
Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson Winos Dube said residents wanted to be kept abreast on what council was doing to solve the water problems.
“The Glass Block Dam was something that we thought could provide a medium term solution as the Gwayi Shangani Dam project has taken too long to complete," Dube said.
“We have not received any update on these projects. Residents are going for up to four weeks without water.
“Do we have people just being paid to come up with excuses? We have challenged the city fathers and administration on what disaster management mechanisms are there in place for such a crisis.”
Coltart has been pushing for the construction of the Glass Block Dam in Matabeleland South with help from private investors.
Last month, it was revealed that council had raised over US$21 million out of the required US$100 million for the construction of the reservoir to be located in Insiza district.
