The Sunday News
MATAGA growth point in Mberengwa, which has gone for close to 20 years without water, has heaved a huge sigh of relief after the World Bank pledged 1,2 million euros for the construction of a water treatment plant as well as reviving its long abandoned water works.
Mberengwa chief executive officer Mr Julius Mashavakure said Mataga, which has a population of about 10 000 people, was largely relying on borehole water.
He said the water would be drawn from Mundi-Mataga dam which has been lying idle for years while the growth point endured close to two decades of persistent water woes.
“World Bank officials recently visited us and said they were going to avail money for the completion of water treatment plant. We had gone for close to two decades without water. We are relying on borehole water and a small Guvamatanga Dam which can hardly meet our daily water demand.
We are hoping that work will start soon after the World Bank avails the funds,” he said.
Mr Mashavakure said the water crisis was not only bedevilling Mataga growth point but the entire district.
He said the Mberengwa district administrator’s office and its surrounding communities had also gone for years without water.
Mr Mashavakure said the district was failing to use surrounding water bodies.
“In Mberengwa North, they rely on borehole water. There is no tap water. The situation has been like that for years. This is because we are failing to draw water from most dams in the districts due to financial constraints. We have been failing to repair damaged pumps and pipes among other issues,” he said.
Mnene Mission has also plunged into a serious water crisis which at some point compelled its boarding schools to draw water from an open stream.
Mnene, which is Mberengwa’s biggest referral hospital servicing 35 clinics and four rural hospitals, is now using raw water from Mnene Dam a situation likely to trigger serious health challenges.
