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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau

The shortage of water in Beitbridge town continues as the levels continue to drop in major supply dams due to the effects of the current El Nino induced droughts.

In addition to dwindling supply sources, the local municipality has been struggling to meet the daily demand of 18 mega litres after the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) installed a prepaid meter on the raw water supply point.

ZINWA supplies raw water to the council which the local authority treats and delivers to the end user.

The cash-strapped council has been struggling to service an over ZWG3 million debt at ZINWA leading to a drop in supplies of water.

On the other hand, residents, ratepayers and Government departments owe the council over ZWG40 million in bills.

As it stands, some suburbs are going for at least 48 hours without adequate water supplies leaving the residents at the mercy of water vendors who sell a 20-litre bucket of borehole water for between R3 and R5 depending on the location of the suburb.

Speaking during a recent budget presentation meeting, Beitbridge deputy mayor, and councillor John Manatsa said the council needs at least US$20 000 to restore normal water supplies weekly and to service its debt with ZINWA.

He said the installation of a bulk prepaid meter for raw water affected the municipality’s ability to maintain normal supply levels of potable water, which had greatly improved since January 2024.

“We need US$20 000 or equivalent a week to restore normal supplies of water while paying 50 percent towards the debt at every recharge,” said Cllr Manatsa.

“We are also praying that our partner will accede to a reduction in the component going towards the debt as it is outside our reach. To manage the current water supply the council will try and establish water equitably so that at least each week residents will have access to water.

Council is also making concerted efforts to ensure all ratepayers honour their debts for continuity of water supply and other services”.

He said the council was looking at making a new revenue stream from the sale of water by the Government in Musina, South Africa.

Cllr Manatsa said due to the El Nino-induced drought, water levels in Dam 1 dropped and water outflows from the off-river storage reduced significantly which posed a significant strain on the water sources.

The water levels at Zhovhe dam, which supplies the town with raw water in the off-river storage, were also affected by the drought.

“We are praying that we will receive rain without further delay and that our ratepayers will honour their debts so that we can pre-pay the raw water,” said Cllr Manatsa.

“Council is also making concerted efforts to ensure all ratepayers honour their debts for continuity of water supply and other services.

“As you may be aware, the Government of Zimbabwe signed an agreement with the Government of South Africa for Zimbabwe (Beitbridge) to supply water to Musina. If this succeeds it will give our council extra needed revenue. We think it will bear fruit in 2025”.

He said the municipality intends to spend a total of US$5,3 million on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) which is the cornerstone of service delivery.

The programme objective is to improve the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation across the town.

Cllr Manatsa said US$2.7 million will be spent on the capital budget, with major projects being the drilling of three boreholes, stand servicing of existing and new layouts, procurement of a refuse compactor, trunk sewer line upgrade from sand trap to sand trap and prepaid water meters (800 meters’ pilot project).