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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
ON Saturday around 2pm I received a phone call from renowned philanthropist and businesswoman Mrs Smelly Dube of River Valley Properties.

It’s not every day that one receives a call from such people and as I was still wondering why she had called, she went right to business:

“Chitumba, I read the story you wrote about Gogo Ncube from Mkoba 18 who together with other residents are facing water challenges and I was touched by their plight. May you take my people to the area and give Gogo Ncube a food hamper and 20 000 litre water bowser for the residents.”

Chronicle had, a day earlier, published a story highlighting the water shortage being faced by Gogo Ncube and other residents.

On arrival at her residence, I briefed her on why we had visited her late on Saturday and she burst into tears thanking the good Lord for hearing her prayers.

She thanked River Valley Properties for the food hamper which had items including cooking oil, bathing and washing soap, mealie-meal, sugar, salt and flour.

“Thank you so much for the story which was published and thank you to Mrs Dube and River Valley Properties for the food hamper and the water which is now benefiting all these residents of Mkoba 15 and 18.

Today I have collected water right at my door step. I didn’t have to travel some kilometres to source this precious liquid and I feel highly honoured,” said Gogo Ncube.

Outside her gate, residents were already queueing to get water.

For the old, the young, and others carrying their little ones on their backs, it was an early Christmas present as they took turns filling up all sorts of containers with water.

Gweru City Council (GCC) which has been failing to provide residents with clean water has been contemplating sending bowsers to affected areas but to no avail.

Globally, 785 million people lack access to clean drinking water. Every day, over 800 children die due to diarrhoea caused by poor water, sanitation and hygiene and scarce or unreliable water and sanitation facilities in many communities around the world.

Gweru is facing a severe water shortage, and public health concerns, as water levels in dams supplying the city have “drastically” dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recurring droughts, obsolete pumps, equipment and power surge have resulted in all high lying areas of Gweru going for over four months without tap water.

Residents such as Gogo Ncube have had to depend on open water sources or overcrowded manually-pumped boreholes but in some areas, underground water tables have gone down and boreholes are struggling to provide the precious liquid.

In our first interview with her last week, Gogo Ncube pleaded with the Chronicle news crew not to mention that residents were fetching water from a leaking pipe. By the weekend, there was no water leaking from the valve where she and fellow residents would scoop water from.

“I am happy with Mrs Dube’s kindness because with this water we have collected, we can go for four to five days without having to look for water for household chores. If only council will also come in and give us a bowser like this once a week, we will be grateful,” she said.

Gogo Ncube said what is puzzling is that GCC continues to send water bills even when it is not providing the service.

She said she would understand if the bill was for other things like refuse collection and some levies like fire but not water charge.

“Every month they are billing us, and for what? We need the service so that we can pay for it,” said Gogo Ncube.

Mr Tendai Hukuimwe, another resident, said following publication of the Chronicle article on Friday, they received some water that day in the evening for the first time since May.

Some residents in Mkoba 15, 20, 21 said they last received water in June.

He said residents appreciate the gesture by River Valley Properties.

“We thank Chronicle for the report. We thank well-wishers like Mrs Dube and we pray council plays ball and leads in providing water bowsers for us,” he said.

“But we wish River Valley Properties would come daily. They have really helped us. If they keep coming, we will be able to contain Covid-19 in this area.”

Mrs Dube pledged to send the water bowser at least twice a week across Mkoba 15, 17, 18, 20 and 21.

“We are operating in this area and this is part of our corporate social responsibility to come in and provide a service to our people, providing water thereby supporting our Government,” she said.

Council constructed an elevated water tank at the edge of Village 14 which was supposed to supply water to suburbs on high ground such as Mkoba 15, 18, 19 and 20. The tank was functional for a short period before it broke down.

More desperate residents have resorted to digging wells at their homes and a number of them are selling the water from the wells.

Gogo Ncube’s neighbour who refused to be identified has a shallow and unprotected well he collects his water from and wasn’t part of residents who queued for water.

GCC public relations officer Ms Vimbai Chingwaramuse said their two main supply dams are fast drying up.

Amapongokwe Dam, constructed in 1960, is now at 35 percent full from 38 percent last month while Gwenoro Dam, built in 1984, is at 15 percent.

Suburbs such as Mkoba One, 15, 18 and 19, Ascot Infill and Harben Park are going for months without water.

Ms Chingwaramuse said the local authority is experiencing serious water shortages which are caused by a number of factors that include low water levels due to prolonged and recurrent droughts, power outages and an aging and obsolete water reticulation system.

“Currently our raw water in our dams has greatly declined. We are pumping only 40 megalitres per day yet to supply the city we need 80 megalitres. With such a pumping capacity, some high-lying areas may not receive water or may receive water but the pressure will be very low. Currently we are trying to find alternative water supply sources such as commercial boreholes. We therefore urge our valued residents to use water sparingly,” said Ms Chingwaramuse.

She said council was looking for money to buy three high lift water pumps for Amapongokwe Dam to increase pumping capacity.

The dam’s water pumps and pipes have not been replaced since independence in 1980.

More than 40 percent of treated water is lost through leakages because of the aging pipes.

She said it was illegal for people to dig wells at their homes without approval and people must first apply to council and an assessment is done.