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The Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo (JMN) Polytechnic campus in Gwanda

Marvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
THE Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo (JMN) Polytechnic in Gwanda is threatened with closure owing to serious water shortages, an official has said. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) recently introduced water rationing to Gwanda Town where it has reduced daily pumping hours from 16 to eight.

This has seen some residents going for two weeks without water with the JMN Polytechnic and Gwanda Provincial Hospital among the institutions that have been seriously affected.

In an interview yesterday, Gwanda Town Mayor, Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu, said authorities from the institution of higher learning had indicated to council that they might be forced to shut down within two days if the water supply situation does not improve.

“We have a big problem as Gwanda. Authorities at the polytechnic phoned us saying that they will be forced to close the college before the end of the week if the water situation continues like this. The hospital is also encountering serious challenges and now schools have opened, and the problem does not create a conducive learning environment for school children,” said Clr Ndlovu.

Some patients at the hospital said they had gone for days without bathing and some said at times they could not get even drinking water.
Zinwa last week said it was forced to introduce water rationing because what the municipality was paying was not enough to buy the required water treatment chemicals.

Clr Ndlovu however, said the municipality had been remitting 70 percent of revenue collected as per agreement with Zinwa.
On average council pays Zinwa about $15,000 monthly.

“It is not about the council, we have done our part, everything is up to date. Yesterday we had a meeting with Zinwa in Bulawayo for almost six hours but failed to resolve this issue.

“The rationing is just as good as cutting us off. Some of our suburbs have gone for almost 15 days without water and we are fearing an outbreak of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea,” said Clr Ndlovu.

He said the municipality had since supplied Zinwa with nine bags of water treatment chemicals and hoped the problem of chemicals, if true, has been solved and water supplies would improve as from today.