‘Bulawayo, Umguza impasse resolved’. . .deal to share water and sewer facilities sealed

HUNDREDS of households built around Bulawayo are set to be connected to sewer and water services after the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and Umguza Rural District Council agreed to share critical reticulation infrastructure following Government intervention.

The move puts to rest a long-standing dispute over amenities infrastructure between the two local authorities, which had seen scores of homeowners in Umguza urban resort to using Blair toilets and borehole water.

Under the Presidential Proclamation 15E of 2004 and subsequent Statutory Instruments, the metropolitan provinces of Bulawayo and Harare were created with their boundaries covering a radius of up to 40 kilometres.

In the case of Bulawayo, the province is surrounded by Umguza, thereby hindering its expansion as the population grows and demand for houses soars.

In the past, BCC had accused Umguza RDC officials and land developers of building houses close to the border between the two councils and expecting the provision of critical amenities services to these areas without clarified terms.

A case in point is Mbundane and Emthunzini suburbs, which fall under Umguza RDC but are not connected to the Bulawayo sewer infrastructure and neither of the local authorities is willing to accept responsibility for both suburbs.

However, under normal circumstances, a local authority, even within the metropolitan province, if interested in incorporating certain sections of another council’s land, should approach the council and pay a certain amount, with the approval of the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.

Speaking on the sidelines of a tour of houses built under the Accelerated Presidential Housing Scheme in Umguza District on Friday, Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, said the long-standing impasse between BCC and Umguza RDC is finally over and the local authorities will start sharing sewer and water infrastructure.

“It’s important that the two local authorities, BCC and Umguza, work together and not in isolation. Some services can be best provided by Bulawayo City Council, while Umguza RDC is also in a position to provide other services,” he said.

“In that regard, we had serious meetings with officials from both local authorities, where a resolution to share services was made.

“We have set up a technical committee that will be chaired by the chief director responsible for local authorities in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, as well as engineers from Umguza and BCC and the legal department from my ministry. Where there are disagreements, those legal gaps will be closed,” said Minister Garwe.

“Where the committee sees opportunities for the two local authorities to work together, then we must exploit those opportunities so that our people can enjoy the best service delivery,” he added.

“Both local authorities submitted their master plans, which were approved by the Government. Now we want to look at those master plans to see if there are areas that overlap, as well as any conflicts, with a view to solving those challenges.

“Where there are conflicts, we will dig deep into the legal aspects of those conflicts and see how best we can resolve the challenges. It’s important to note that both local authorities have agreed to work together and share water and sewer infrastructure. The revenue collected from the shared services will also be shared by BCC and Umguza RDC,” said Minister Garwe.

The Accelerated Presidential Housing Scheme is being implemented by Hawkflight Properties and Maharba Properties for civil servants and is expected to deliver about 4 000 housing units shared equally between the two developers.

The two schemes target civil servants on a zero deposit model as the Second Republic continues the drive towards Vision 2030, where affordable and decent housing is part of non-monetary benefits.

The National Building Society (NBS) is spearheading the project with financing from the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) pension funds.

“These are modern houses in a high-density area and the Government will make sure that social services are provided before the beneficiaries start moving in,” said Minister Garwe.

“So far, I’m happy to see that there are tarred roads, water and sewer pipes are now connected and it shows this is a well-planned project that meets all the requirements for human settlements.”