By AMOS BATISAYI GOKWE residents have gone for several weeks without running water, posing a health hazard to the town.
This is despite Gokwe Town Council last year approving the construction of solar-powered boreholes to address the water woes.
Only one solar borehole was constructed.
Residents in the town fear that the water crisis will result in the spread of waterborne diseases.
Mapfungautsi resident Avril Majoni told Southern Eye that they had gone for a month without running water.
“The situation is extremely bad because we are being forced to use unsafe water from wells and a nearby river.
“We appeal to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) to urgently fix this problem before a health crisis hits Gokwe town,” he said.
Another resident, Sukoluhle Ncube from Nyaradza area said: “We have gone for close to two-and-half months without running water and the situation is very bad as we are currently forced to buy 20-litre buckets of water at $60 because the water that we have is not safe for drinking.”
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Zinwa spokesperson for the Sanyati catchment area Obert Muchena said water problems in Gokwe were caused by a breakdown at one of their pumps.
“We had a serious breakdown along one of our pumping mains, which has since been fixed and the water situation in the town is gradually getting back to normal,” Muchena said.
Council believes that a permanent solution to the water challenges lies in taking away water management rights from Zinwa.
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