Online Reporter
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is grappling with difficulties in promptly addressing water bursts and leaks in the city largely due to a severe shortage of resources.
As a result, many of these issues remain unsolved for extended periods, leaving residents to cope with the consequences of inadequate water management.
Responding to questions from Sunday News, BCC corporate communications manager, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said under normal circumstances, bursts are normally responded and repaired within 24 hours of occurrence, but due to a shortage of materials they were delaying attending to them as the required materials would not be readily available.
“The shortage of materials is caused by a combination of factors. The City of Bulawayo has reported considerable delays in obtaining the required materials and spare parts for repairing water infrastructure. These delays result in a backlog of unresolved problems, leaving the water supply system susceptible to further failures.
“The City of Bulawayo has challenges in raising the required foreign currency to purchase essential repair materials and spares. This is a major challenge as most suppliers require upfront payment in hard cash, further delaying procurement of the much-needed materials,” said Mrs Mpofu.
The council spokesperson said the shortage of materials has exposed the affected areas to prolonged hours of water shedding.
These areas are inclusive of the Central Business District, areas near Chronicle, Parkade Centre, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and surrounding areas, Riverside, Sunninghill, Matsheumhlophe, Ascot Mews, A
scot Towers, Angesley Road in Queens Park East, Bluebird Road, Stornway Road in Burnside and surrounding areas.
“The City’s 2012 Water and Wastewater Masterplan indicated that the City needed to invest US$193 million towards water reticulation or distribution infrastructure whereby nearly 50 percent of the pipes had reached its useful life and was due for replacement.
“The City is struggling to raise resources for the refurbishment and maintenance of aging water infrastructure to enhance efficiency and reliability. The City of Bulawayo is currently faced with a surge in water bursts and leaks due to a number of factors some of which include aged infrastructure and pressure challenges,” said Mrs Mpofu.
She revealed that the local authority is however, making provisions to procure the required materials as an emergency to ensure restoration of water supplies and with the availability of materials, areas are being worked on and supplies are being restored.
Questioned on whether residents with the financial resources could approach council to come up with an arrangement where they purchase their own materials to assist in resolving these bursts, Mrs Mpofu said while this was possible, the local authority did not have any reimbursement provision.
“The City of Bulawayo is open for donations and accepts assistance from the community, however, there is no standing policy on reimbursements. In instances where resources have been a challenge, residents have in various instances offered to donate as part of their goodwill to the community.
“In the event that the residents wish to be reimbursed for their materials, they are requested to put in a formal request. The requests are then presented to council for consideration before approval to purchase the materials,” said the council spokesperson.
