The Sunday News
Nokukhanya Moyo, Sunday News Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has committed more than $37 million towards improving sewerage and sanitation services in 22 of its wards.
The project is going to run under the Bulawayo Supply and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (BWSSIP) where $37,7 million will be used. The project that was launched last year in September and will be implemented in four years will focus on rehabilitating and enhancing the water supply system, strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing service delivery and efficiency and improvement of environmental sanitation in 22 wards. A total of 23 public toilets will be rehabilitated.
The wards include ward 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,15,16,17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29.
Council senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the project’s objective was to provide safe water and ensure safe disposal of sewage, improve the efficiency and sanitation, physical assets and enhance operational and financial efficiency of service delivery.
“We are embarking on this project with the aim of improving in the provision of safe water. We are also going to ensure there is safe disposal of sewage as well as an improvement in sanitation. The long and short of it is that we want to enhance operational and financial efficiency of the city,” she said.
Mrs Mpofu said the water reticulation system would be improved which include operational efficiency of Criterion Treatment Works, improving the network in Magwegwe and Criterion Reservoirs. She said that would reduce non-revenue water losses and enhance supply of water to areas such as Cowdray Park which have lived without proper supply of water for many years.
She said the rehabilitation of sewer infrastructure would reduce pollution from the system.
Mrs Mpofu said the rehabilitation of environment would be done in Southern Areas Sewage Treatment (SAST) catchment area where broken trunk, and outfall sewers and treatment works would be rehabilitated, Cowdray Park community sewerage and outfall sewers would also be extended, and critical hot spot sections in the sewerage networks would be repaired.
“The project supports the enhancement of the City of Bulawayo’s capacity of staff through training and provision of essential operational and maintenance equipment. Capacitating will be extended to areas such as billing and Geographical Information System (GIS), while studies will be conducted in waste water reuse and power generation from waste. Institutional outreach and accountability mechanisms will also be strengthened.”
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