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Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
INDUSTRIES in Redcliff are now using trucks to fetch water for manufacturing purposes because of service delivery failure due to a dispute between Kwekwe City Council and Redcliff Municipality over water supplies.

Kwekwe has in recent years cut water supplies to Redcliff citing an accumulation of an unsettled water bill that is now hovering around $20 million.

The now defunct Ziscosteel used to be the water authority for the satellite town with a mandate to purchase and distribute water on behalf of Redcliff. The giant firm has failed to service the water bill since 2008 when it ceased operations leaving the burden on the municipality.

Steelmakers’ operations director Mr Upendra Alamwar told Business Chronicle that the company has been forced to contract trucks to fetch water in Kwekwe for the company’s requirements, which has pushed the cost of production up.

“We have challenges of water and as a company we consume a lot of it during our manufacturing process. We no longer have piped water due to the dispute between Redcliff (Municipality) and Kwekwe City Council. This has forced us to engage transport operators to fetch water on our behalf, which pushes the cost of production at a time when the cost of utilities is already up,” he said.

“We hope that something will be done very soon because a situation like this makes us uncompetitive at a time when we are trying to export due to the various interventions brought about by the central bank.”

As part of efforts to contain the ballooning wage bill, Redcliff Municipality has put in place a stringent water shedding exercise, which has resulted in the satellite town receiving water twice a week.

In his response, Redcliff mayor Fred Kapuya said the local authority was trying to negotiate with a local company to try and set up a treatment plant so that the local authority can draw water for industrial and household use from Cactus Dam.

“The challenge that we have at the moment has to do with funding so that we can use Cactus Dam as our water source to supply residents and companies in the town. We are in discussions with a company which made presentations sometime ago for the setting up of a water purification plant. Our hope is that something positive will come up,” he said.

“We are aware of the challenges being faced by our remaining industries and we have also engaged Steelmakers to consider setting up their own treatment plant for them to draw water from Cactus Dam.”

Last year the Africa Development Bank extended a  $4 million grant to the local authority for the redesigning of sewer lines in Rutendo High Density Surbub as well as the setting up of a water clarifier plant in the satellite town.

The infrastructural developments especially in water supply are part of a grand plan of supplying the satellite town with its water needs in the next five years.

@lavuzigara1