BCC constitutes water and sanitation dept

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor

IN an attempt to improve efficiency and effectiveness, the City of Bulawayo has divided its Engineering Services Department into two, which has seen the creation of the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Works.

This is not the first time that the Engineering Services Department has been split, a few years back, the local authority resolved to have the Town Planning section which was within the department, become a standalone department.

It has since emerged that the local authority has further split the department, with the processes for establishing the terms of references and the operational parameters of the two new departments now at an advanced point.

The former Director of Engineering Services, Engineer Sikhumbuzo Ncube is now the substantial Director of Water and Sanitation while, according to the city’s spokesperson, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, the processes to appoint a Director of Works are also at an advanced stage.

The department of works will now be responsible for roads and other services that do not encompass water and sanitation.

“The reasoning behind dividing the Engineering Services Department into two separate departments was to streamline the operations of the department into Water and Sanitation on one hand, and Works on the other hand to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The process of restructuring and refining the structures is still ongoing and not yet final.

“With the exception of the position of director of water and sanitation which was already filled when the decision was made and the restructuring process started, the other senior positions will be filled in terms of the council’s recruitment policy after the finalisation of the new structures,” said Mrs Mpofu.

According to a council report, the decision to split the department was reached at a workshop that was organised by Vitens Evides International in December last year.

The workshop’s main objectives were to capacitate councillors and council management of the ring-fencing concept, advantages and disadvantages in order to make informed decisions.

“The second day also constituted a presentation from the Ministry of Water reflecting on the legal and policy structures surrounding water and sanitation service delivery in the Zimbabwe WASH Sector. Understanding the City ring-fencing experiences and perspectives, interpretations then brought the city to also focus on three specific models of ring-fencing firstly the formation of a Water Utility wholly owned by council to run as a Strategic Business Unit.

“Secondly the formation of a Water and Sanitation Department operating within Council and sharing indirect costs from support services and thirdly the formation of a Water and Sanitation Department operating within Council with own independent support services,” reads the report.

The local authority has since appointed a transition manager to oversee the process of the establishment of the water and sanitation department.

In a letter from Vitens Evides International, who have been appointed as the transition managers, they noted that in order to support the transition and cover for the costs of the experts, they can in agreement, reallocate some resources within the current budget of the ongoing water works project.

“We respect the proposed approach to appoint a transition manager to oversee the overall transition process. In addition, we suggest to strengthen this position with experts working on specific tasks, among others on the legal, financial and organisational aspects of this transition.

“And, in our view, for a successful transition process, it is required you also have appointed a team with adequate capacity and time available within the city. This can be defined in an agreement when the transition manager is selected,” reads the letter.

Vitens Evides International also proposed that the two entities jointly seek for additional financing for the process.