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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter 

GOVERNMENT has set aside funds for an emergency nationwide borehole drilling exercise to avert water shortages following poor rains in the 2018/2019 rainy season and the Matabeleland region is being prioritised.

Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Cde Douglas Karoro said this during the National Assembly’s Question and Answer Session on Wednesday.

Cde Karoro was responding to Gokwe-Chireya Member of Parliament Cde Torerayi Moyo who had asked him about the measures that have been put in place to address the effects of climate change.

The Deputy Minister said Government was aware of the current drought situation and that both livestock and people were suffering due to water shortages.

“We are going to drill some boreholes throughout the country in all the constituencies. Each Member of Parliament is going to have some. There is a fund that has been set aside for that purpose to drill boreholes for all the Honourable Members who are even laughing at my response,” said Cde Karoro.

He did not reveal the amount of funds that had been set aside for the project but assured legislators that the money is already available in the Ministry. 

Cde Karoro said Matabeleland region is being prioritised in the borehole drilling exercise due the dire water situation but equipment had to be diverted to Cyclone Idai hit Manicaland province. 

“We are going to start with Matabeleland which is the driest region and then we are going to move to other areas. As we speak right now, we have deployed all our drilling rigs to Manicaland where there was Cyclone Idai,” said Cde Karoro.

“I said, according to our plan, we are going to start with Matabeleland but because there was an emergency situation in Manicaland, we had to divert from the plan. If you think that was wrong, then I do not know how to describe this.”

Already Bulawayo is facing a water crisis that has seen the Bulawayo City Council imposing a 48-hour water shedding programme.

Recently, the local authority said its supply dams have dropped drastically, with only 29 months supply left amid reports that water consumption in the city had gone up. — @nqotshili