Act now to alleviate water shortages

Among many of its key functions, the Ministry is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all the strategic water reserves such as dams and other key water reticulation and storage acquifers perennially feed the precious liquid to towns and cities for human consumption and the perpetuity of water-based industrial production.
According to reliable sources, it is estimated that there has not been major inflows into the city’s dams and this revelation is likely to bring back very stringent water rationing to numerous households.
Elsewhere, the story “Water crisis looms in Bubi district” carried in the Sunday News edition of 5-11 February 2012 is disturbing. In the story the constituency’s Member of Parliament, Cde Clifford Cameroon Sibanda, is quoted as saying: “The water problem has been extreme owing to the breakdown of water infrastructure in the district.”
Further in his exposition, Cde Sibanda unravels the negative impact of the water crisis to both social and economic development of villages. “Lack of reliable water resources has hindered efforts by villagers to embark on income-generating projects such as nutritional gardens and horticulture,” lamented Cde Sibanda.
In his appeal, Cde Sibanda implored the authorities to help avail water to rural communities especially in resettlement areas where most of the water infrastructure has either been vandalised or has become obsolete to efficiently draw water from underground.
The Member of Parliament is lauded for pointing out the looming water crisis in his constituency. He and his people stand numerous chances of averting the looming water crisis since an English dictum says “forewarned is forearmed”.
Following the revelation of this looming water crisis by the MP many villagers in various wards have expressed concern over the situation. In concurrence with the MP, many people have expressed dismay over the widely scattered boreholes that are also often characterised by intermittent mechanical faults and breakdowns caused by overwhelming water demands or obsolete water infrastructure.
A villager in Ward 15 in Inyathi Co-op, Ms Musa Ncube, lauded the MP for raising the water crisis, but bemoaned the snail’s pace at which water crisis amelioration strategies are being implemented.
“Siyambonga uMP wethu ubaba uSibanda ngokunanzelela loluhlupho. Thina sicela imizamo yokulungisisa isibholane iphangisiswe sithole amanzi okunatha,” she said.
Ms Ncube revealed that Inyathi Co-op, a ward with a population of over 500 villagers, is supplied by only three boreholes with one of these boreholes currently dysfunctional.
Related to efforts to alleviate a water crisis in the ward, two weeks ago, a village head in the ward, Mr Airforce Hlabangana, passionately spoke about reports that plans were at an advanced stage for the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) to embark on a massive water reticulation scheme aimed at drawing water from Maqaqeni Dam in Ward 11 into Ward 15 and other surrounding places such as Inyathi High School, Inyathi Township and Inyathi administration offices.
“Mihle imizamo esiyenzayo. Amanzi la azanceda izakhamizi,” said village head Hlabangana. He concurred with the MP that most water infrastructure in the district is obsolete and causes a lot of mechanical faults to boreholes and water engines.
This revelation that Bubi district faces water shortages of this magnitude is very much disturbing and an urgent solution must be found. Bubi villagers cannot continue losing out on both social and economic progress due to lack of water.
Any further loss to the people is a travesty to the Government’s famous economic empowerment programme levied at empowering rural communities hit by a legacy of economic inequality and social obscurity due to a skewed economic and social policy put in place by the unjust colonial system. This water crisis in Bubi smacks of glamorising this evil social and economic injustice.
Bubi cannot suffer and go dry. Her rich and abundant natural resources must redeem her from the murky waters of economic and social oblivion. Politicians from across the political divide, churches, businesspeople, parastatals and individuals must unite and source funds to drill supplementary and reliable boreholes and restore dysfunctional engines especially in resettlement areas such as Mambo Pyramids, Matikiti, Bona, Goodwood, and Esiphukeni, to name but a few villagers dotted across the constituency.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture Mechanisation and Irrigation Development report of 2009, Bubi has a population of about 68 000 people scattered in a district endowed with vast gold deposits. Bubi produces some of the finest gold in the country. Casmyn Gold Mine, Bubi Mine, Duration Gold Mine, Durban Mine and Isabella Mine produce a lot of gold and are potential players and partners in filling up the bowel that can help in the restoration of water in Bubi.
I believe these mines cherish the concept “ploughing back to the community” through supporting endeavours such as restoring water supply in the district. The five rivers, namely Bubi, Mbembeswana, Ngwingwisi, Shangani and Longwe, are largely seasonal and therefore the district relies on underground water.
The sale of Bubi’s timber and protected animals can also raise money to annihilate this water crisis. What about tourist excursions in Mambo ruins? Not long ago the Ward 10 Councillor, Mrs Ndlovu, revealed that a pride of leopards in Tshayile village had devoured over 100 of domestic animals such as donkeys and cattle.
As part of striking economic and ecosystem equilibrium, these menacing animals must be auctioned and the proceeds used to drill more boreholes in the district. Would we place more preference upon these menacing animals when we have no water?
Of course it is acknowledged that Zimbabwe is a signatory to a convention in the protection and trade in endangered species such as lions, leopards, elephants, etc, but Bubi must vigorously exploit her abundant resources such as trees, animals and minerals to finance her water restoration programmes, roads construction, job creation and the refurbishment of existing public infrastructure such as Government offices, schools and its only hospital. Bubi must never be left to die when she has such highly rich natural resources such as gold deep in the bowels of her land.