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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]

BULAWAYO councillors have commended Government efforts to resolve the city’s perennial water shortages and challenged the local authority to complement such efforts to ensure the sustainability of future water supplies.

Debating the future water supplies for the city during a full council meeting on Wednesday, Ward 26 Councillor Mpumelelo Moyo said it was worrying that the council appears to rely on Government interventions alone in tackling water issues.

“Our Government is doing an excellent job in its efforts to bring piped water through the construction of the Lake Gwayi-Shangani, which is now at 73 percent completion. But I feel as a council we need to complement these commendable efforts,” he said. 

“At the moment we seem to have resigned ourselves to waiting for this water from Zambezi instead of also being proactive by coming up with our own mitigatory measures,” said Clr Moyo, who is also the finance committee chairperson.

In response to the proposal to complement the Government initiative, the chairperson of the Future Water Supplies and Water Action Committee, Clr Edwin Ndlovu, said the committee will seriously look into the suggestion and report back in the next full council meeting. “The proposal is noted and we shall look into it. In fact, we touched on this in our meeting just yesterday but it’s only that we cannot then present that in today’s council meeting,” said Clr Ndlovu.

In an interview outside council chambers, Clr Moyo said the local authority should consider engaging the private sector in the construction of new dams. He said this will not be contradictory to efforts by the Government but complementary.

“There is no problem with having new dams on top of the Gwayi-Shangani one, which is being constructed by the Government hence my proposal that let us buy into this vision of putting the city’s water challenges to bed,” said Clr Moyo.

Meanwhile, councilors tore into the city’s engineering department for its lackadaisical approach in dealing with the problematic and increasing problem of burst sewer pipes in the city, especially in residential areas.

The councillors suggested the department needs to be whipped into line for effective service delivery to the ratepayers. They were contributing to the Environmental Management and Engineering Services report.

Ward 11 councillor, Susan Sithole, said at Emakhandeni suburb residents were facing a health time bomb as most streets had burst pipes.

“What is even more disturbing is that we have been making reports to the department but nothing is being and we don’t know why?.

“We live with the people and as I speak some residents have even threatened to chase me out of the suburb because they think I am doing nothing about this sewer problem,” said Cllr Sithole.

Her sentiments were echoed by Ward 3 counterpart, Cllr Mxolisi Mahlangu, who also had no kind words for the engineering department.

“I find it strange that a whole director can have the audacity of asking me for feedback on a reported case of a sewer problem instead of this being the other way round,” he said. 

“Residents are bringing reports now and again and I engage the department but all they do is to give you a reference number and nothing happens. 

“As I speak, we have about 17 houses with similar problems and I am asking myself if we are a working council or not,” said Cllr Mahlangu.

“When we make complaints on this, the same people start discussing us emabhawa claiming we want to supervise them, this must stop.”

Ward 17 councillor, Sikhululekile Moyo, said the issue of vehicle incapacitation in the department must not be an excuse because council recently commissioned eight brand new vehicles.

“Where are those vehicles that were recently commissioned? The sewer issue is a first in the service delivery of a council and if we are not doing that, then it must be an issue,” said Cllr Moyo.