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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO supply dams have water that can last the city for up to 14 months without council implementing any shedding programme.

Since 2019, Bulawayo has been under a tight water shedding schedule which has resulted in areas in high lying suburbs going for nearly a year without running water.

However, good rains that have been received in the 2020/21 rainy season have seen Bulawayo City Council gradually easing the water shedding exercise.

Council expects to stop water shedding before the end of this month as the city’s dam levels are about 65 percent full, from 21 percent at the start of the rainy season.

Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Settlement Minister Dr Anxious Masuka told the National Assembly during Wednesday’s Question and Answer session that urban centres are unlikely to face water challenges this year due to good rains that have been received so far.

He said Government was also taking deliberate steps to ensure that the country has sustainable water sources through construction of dams.

Dr Masuka was responding to MDC-T Bulawayo Proportional Representation MP Dr Thokozani Khupe who had asked him what Government was doing to harvest water to avert perennial water shortages that had dodged the country in past seasons.

“At a broader national level Government has the accelerated dam construction project and not just in view of drinking water but also agricultural and industrial water. It is in this regard that we have started an unprecedented project to do ten dams this year and we will be commissioning three,” said Dr Masuka.

“At the urban supply level, most of the towns because of the abundant rains have enough water in their dams to supply 14 months and above. Bulawayo has 14 months’ supply in its dams. Harare has got 25 months’ supply and we are quite pleased with that.”

He said harvesting of water should not just be left to Government but individuals and communities as water is fast becoming a scarce resource.

Government has committed to addressing the country’s water problems with President Mnangagwa last week commissioning the Nyamandlovu’s Epping Forest Water Supply Augmentation Project for the City of Bulawayo which is now delivering 20 megalitres of water per day in Bulawayo as part of addressing the city’s persistent water challenges.