adminGeorge Chiduku Herald Reporter
Norton Town Council has clinched a $700 000 partnership deal with a German company expected to ease the water crisis that has bedevilled residents for the past decade. In the deal which is still in its initial stages, two suburbs – Maridale and Johannesburg – will first benefit from the project.
Norton Town council chief executive officer Mr Blessing Mutyambizi told The Herald that the council had partnered with German International Zimbabwe (GIZ) in a $695 000 project set to end water woes in the area.
He said residents would purchase a token from the local board where they would get 100 litres of water per dollar.
Mr Mutyambizi said it was their hope for the project to be self-sustaining to enable them to pay water attendants whose wage bill was currently being met by the local authority.
“We would want the revenue from the water kiosks to sufficiently cater for the salaries of the people who man the kiosks not the current scenario where the wage bill is being met by council, ‘’ he said.
GIZ company representative for the project Mr Tenda Upenyu said they were prompted to partner Norton Town Council after carrying out an underground water survey in the area which reviewed that the water was contaminated.
For the past decade Norton council has been failing to meet demand since it only receives 5 megalitres per day from Morton Jaffray against the average demand of 15 to 20 mega litters per day.
“The results prompted us to partner with the council to ease water challenges which were being faced by the residents. The water was contaminated by the blair toilet and septic tank system that they had resorted to use.
“Sadly the wells they sank are producing contaminated water, hence we found it fit to chip in and contain the situation.
He also said GIZ constructed a state of art landfill and donated a refuse compactor, a tractor, a single cab Nissan NP 300 vehicle,30 computers, eight laptops and also managed to send council officials to German for exchange programs,’’ said Mr Upenyu.
For the past decade Norton council was failing to meet the demand of water by residents since it only receives 5mega litres per day from Morton Jaffray against the average demand of 15 to 20 mega litters per day.
Online Reporter