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Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT has availed $5,8 million to City of Gweru for the rehabilitation of its water system to improve service delivery.
Acting Mayor Councillor Cleopas Shiri, addressing a 2019 budget consultative meeting at town house on Tuesday, said from the allocation, $4 million was going towards the purchase of new water pumps and the rehabilitation of Gwenhoro Water Pump Station.
Clr Shiri said the other $1,8 million was council’s share from the 5 percent Constitutional allocation which they were getting from Central Government and will go towards capital projects.
“The Government, in the annual 2019 National Budget allocated Gweru City Council $4 million to go towards the rehabilitation of the water system. So we are going to use the money to purchase new water pumps to improve water pumping capacity to meet the ever increasing demand for potable water and rehabilitating the Gwenhoro Water Pump Station for smooth flow of water.
“The other $1, 8 million will go towards capital projects,” he said.
Town clerk Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza said the pumps at Gwenhoro Water Pump Station were manufactured in 1957 and, therefore, needed to be changed as they could cease any time.
“The pumps we are using at Gwenhoro Water Pump Station were installed in 1957 and are, therefore, very old and need to be changed. So with the allocation from Government, we are going to purchase new pumps.
“However, the pumps we want cost over $1 million, meaning we won’t be able to purchase as many pumps as we would have wanted,” said Ms Gwatipedza addressing the same meeting.
She said council sewer system had also totally collapsed, forcing the local authority to dump raw sewage at its Go Beer Breweries farm.
“Our sewer system also needs a complete overhaul as we are currently discharging raw sewage at our farm.
“We used to discharge it in rivers and we were fined by EMA,” said Ms Gwatipedza.
Online Reporter