Government drills more than 80 boreholes in Bulawayo

Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter

THE Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensure uninterrupted water supplies in Bulawayo with 83 boreholes out of a target of 250 having been drilled around the city as part of the short to medium term interventions to alleviate the plight of residents in the city.

The city last week received its second drilling rig from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) which has seen the drilling programme expedited. Zinwa head of corporate communications and marketing Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said they have so far drilled 83 boreholes meant to alleviate the plight of residents in the city.

“The ongoing borehole drilling programme targets to drill 250 boreholes in Bulawayo to help improve the water and sanitation situation in the city. To date, 83 of the targeted 250 boreholes have been drilled. The borehole drilling exercise in Bulawayo is meant to alleviate the water situation in the country’s second capital,” said Mrs Munyonga.

She said the exercise moved to urban areas out of the realisation of the water challenges that towns and cities were experiencing, adding that mechanisms were being put in place to secure the drilled boreholes from vandalism. 

“Zinwa has put in place mechanisms to reduce the incidences of vandalism of water infrastructure and these include creating awareness among the populace on the dangers and negative effects of vandalism, increasing security personnel at key water infrastructure points such as Nyamandlovu and target hardening measures, which make the vandalism of the property difficult.”

She said the programme was being financed through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) which is run through Treasury. An excited community leader in Bulawayo Mr Vote Nelson Sibanda who is with the Bulawayo United Residents Association expressed  gratitude towards the borehole drilling programme in Gwabalanda.

“We did not have a borehole in this area and those residents without enough containers to store water had to walk to the estate plantations which is a bit far from here. Some of the idle boys in the neighbourhood are now fetching water for a livelihood at the estate plantations. We really want to thank Government for rolling out this programme,” said Mr Sibanda.

Gwabalanda, Barham Green, Nkulumane and Mpopoma suburbs have been some of the recipients of the borehole drilling programme. The Government has also drilled 77 boreholes in cholera hotspots across the country out of a target of more than 140 as it steps up efforts to fight the deadly water-borne disease through increased access to clean water.

The exercise is complementing the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme that commenced in 2021 and is meant to improve communities’ access to clean water targeting 35 000 boreholes across the country. Communities in Binga, Matabeleland North and Mangwe in Matabeleland South, are among those that have already benefited from the programme. — @nyeve14