Vusumuzi Dube
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
CONSTRUCTION of the Gwayi-Shangani water treatment plant at the landing station in Cowdray Park is set to begin soon, with a contractor for the project already in place after a tendering process, a Cabinet minister has said.
Gwayi-Shangani Dam is expected to start impounding water in the forthcoming 2023/24 summer season on the backdrop of reports that construction work is now over 70 percent complete. The project is being funded by Government through the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and implemented through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa).
The dam, which has a capacity of 635 million cubic metres, making it the country’s third largest inland water body after Tugwi-Mukosi and Mutirikwi, which are both in Masvingo Province, is expected to go a long way in solving Bulawayo’s perennial water woes.
Serious groundwork is already underway towards laying of the 245km pipeline linking Lake Gwayi-Shangani and Bulawayo. the Gwayi-Shangani-Bulawayo pipeline is expected to carry 220ML/day against Bulawayo’s requirement of 165ML/day or the current 133 or 135ML/day. The treatment plant in Cowdray Park will be expected to process 80 megalitres (ML) per day.
Speaking during a constituency rally in Cowdray Park yesterday, Zanu-PF’s prospective candidate for parliament in the constituency, Finance and Economic Development Minister, Proffesor Mthuli Ncube said a contractor had been chosen for the project and was ready to begin work.
“We have dug up 33 boreholes, with the 33rd being the one that was drilled at Mkhithika Thebe. This is all in an attempt to solve the water problems that we are facing in Cowdray Park and the rest of Bulawayo. What is important to note however, is that water will come from the Gwayi-Shangani dam.
The landing station, the water treatment plant, is here in Cowdray Park.
“I would like to announce that the contractor has been given the contract and they are ready to start. Very soon, we will be having a groundbreaking ceremony. Water will arrive here in Cowdray Park before it reaches any other part of Bulawayo.
That is where we are going when it comes to tap water because Bulawayo has water problems and that is what government has decided to solve with these various projects,” Prof Ncube said.
With 33 boreholes drilled in the constituency, Prof Ncube encouraged people encouraged residents to start using the new water sources as opportunities for business.
“One advantage that people will have from all these boreholes is that you are allowed to use this water to make bricks and start a business. You cannot do the same with tap water because council does not allow this.
That is not water for business but instead, it is meant for domestic use only. So, we want to make sure there’s water for business and water for domestic use. That’s where we are going as a constituency,” he said.
Prof Ncube said at his behest, government was now exploring a public-private partnership to help solve Cowdray Park’s sewer reticulation problems once and for all. Although Blair toilets and pit latrines are common in rural areas, more than 9 300 out of 15 600 Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle households in Cowdray Park are using Blair toilets.
“I have been looking at the sewage situation because we had a groundbreaking ceremony to start the process of tackling the problem. I then realised that this issue requires a bigger solution than I had thought of initially.
So, I have spoken with contractors to start work, so that when you pay, you’re paying for something that is already there. We don’t want work towards a solution bit by bit, with residents contributing money while I do the same, the process will be too slow.
So, the solution that I am proposing is faster. We have called in a contractor to be a part of the project in a public – private partnership. Government will handle its end of the bargain while the contractor does the same to make the partnership fruitful,” he said.
Prof Ncube also expressed concern about the state of Cowdray Park terminus, where vendors are still conducting business in the open.
“We are forging ahead with the idea of opening an industrial park here in Cowdray Park. We want a special economic zone and I have spoken to a financier who is already very eager to come in and begin work. I have been the one holding him back because we want to secure the special economic zone status first.
We want entrepreneurs to come here and open business so that we can open employment opportunities for young people in Cowdray Park.
“I noticed that at the terminus things are not properly sheltered in times of bad weather. We need stalls there to protect people in times or rain or other forms of bad weather. So, over the next few months, we have pledged the building of stalls for people,” he said.
Online Reporter