The Sunday News
THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority is working closely with the Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe to raise a water infrastructure bond of more than $2 billion as part of its long-term strategic plan to rehabilitate and develop the country’s water facilities.
In an interview with Sunday Business at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair exhibition centre on Thursday Zinwa board chairman Mr Michael Ndoro said the suspension of the Public Sector Investment Programme support had affected the authority’s ability to complete various projects across the country.
Hence, he said, the authority would seek alternative initiatives to secure funding to complete the projects.
“For our future projects our view is that we develop things like our ecotourism, fisheries, rehabilitate our river system through de-siltation and expand opportunities for irrigation but those projects are in excess of $2 billion to implement.
“We are in the market working closely with IDBZ to raise a water infrastructure bond that we think will start to contribute towards meeting some of those requirements. Our focus is obviously around the 10 existing and key PSIP programmes that we have been mandated to complete,” Mr Ndoro said.
He said the parastatal had also approached the Development Bank of Southern Africa to assist it and was working with its partners in Russia, Belarus and India to obtain equipment to complete major projects.
“On rehabilitation we would require a total of about $200 million. We have been talking to our partners in India and in Russia to assist us with that. We believe that in the near future we will probably be sourcing close to about $40 to 60 million. That will allow us to do at least a minimum of about 100 stations in the short-term and that process will take close to about 12 months to complete it,” Mr Ndoro said.
He said the parastatal with the help of its parent ministry was in the process of organising a Water Infrastructure Development Conference next month to showcase the country’s investment opportunities in the water sector to the international community so that it is able to raise the necessary resources required to implement various projects.
Mr Ndoro said ZINWA was in the process of laying off 212 employees as part of the company’s turnaround efforts.
“There are a total of 212 employees that are going to be affected ranging from the age of 55 to about 65 but I would like to assure the public that none of them are going to lose their benefits. We are working with management to ensure their terminal benefits are settled, outstanding wages are settled that their pension funds are settled.
“So on one hand we could be losing experienced staff, on the other hand the organisation becomes more viable and there is an opportunity to bring young talented people who are seeking employment to come into the organisation for sustainable growth,” he said.
