The Sunday News
Walter Mswazie in Masvingo
RESIDENTS in Masvingo have appealed to the council to drill boreholes in the city to augment water supplies in most suburbs.
Residents in suburbs such as Rhodene and Zimre Park are enduring long hours, in some cases five days per week without running water, posing serious health and hygiene challenges.
A resident from Rhodene near Harare Road, Ms Talent Mambo said there was a need for a borehole in the area as a matter of urgency as people were now forced to use water from unprotected sources.
“We also want boreholes in Rhodene. We have water coming from the tap only two days per week and this can be a recipe for disaster,” said Ms Mambo.
Another resident, from Zimre Park, Ms Mary Chadoka said a non- governmental organisation had promised to drill a borehole in the area but work has not started. Ward 9 councillor, Babylon Beta confirmed the dire situation affecting residents in his ward and said the local authority was seized with the matter.
“It is true that there are some houses which do not enjoy constant water supplies in Rhodene. Council is seized with the matter and has already drilled boreholes in Ward 3, 4 and 10. We received money from the devolution fund and we used it to drill these boreholes but there is nothing at the moment,” said Clr Beta.
“Once we get another allocation, efforts would be made to attend to Rhodene. However, we always encourage residents to drill their own boreholes as the water situation is getting beyond our control. We are facing these challenges due to load shedding and as long as we have these power cuts, the situation will not improve. Our water works is also affected by load-shedding and once there is no power water cannot be pumped,” he said.
Masvingo United Ratepayers and Residents Alliance (MURRA) spokesperson Mr Godfrey Mutimba challenged the local authority to provide clean water to residents, giving priority to the worst affected suburbs.
“Council should give priority to the most affected suburbs like the upper part of Rhodene and a number of high-density areas. While we acknowledge the power crisis, it is the sole duty of council to provide us with adequate and clean water,” said Mr Mutimba.
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