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Belinda Moyo, Sunday News Reporter
THE Bulawayo City Council has embarked on a project to connect water to residents of Garikai/ Hlalani Kuhle area in Cowdray Park up to water meter level in a bid to encourage more people to pay and get water connected to their homes.
Council spokesperson Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said that was meant to encourage residents to update their monthly service payment of $15 so as to speed up the process of servicing the area.
“In an effort to encourage residents to install individual water connections, Bulawayo City Council has embarked on a programme of installing serial connections whereby the council installs a domestic water connection up to water meter point, then the applicant only pays for the water meter and labour,” she said.
Mrs Mpofu said residents have to pay a water connection fee of $85 per household which excludes $55 material cost and $200 service payment. It has been learnt that in areas where water pipes have been installed, residents are given three months notice, in which they would be expected to have applied for and installed their individual water connections.
“For the residents who have not been faithfully paying the $15 monthly obligation since December 2012, all become due when one applies for a water connection, this is now a financial insurmountable task for a large number of residents,” she said.
Mrs Mpofu said council was also making efforts to ensure the entire Garikai/ Hlalani Kuhle housing scheme was serviced like any other suburb in the city.
“With the assistance of Bulawayo Water Sewerage Services Improvement Project and WaterWorX which are funding materials for 6 000 domestic water connections including water meters, the council is looking at the possibility of asking each resident to pay at least $340 for water connection in order to encourage everyone to come forward and apply for water connection. These payments will assist in procuring more water connection material for other residents that will not be covered under the programme concerned (about 9 000 properties),” she said.
The Hlalani Kuhle/ Garikai stands were issued by the Government to settle people who were affected by Operation Murambatsvina.
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