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Two very significant developments happened in Bulawayo this week — council’s reduction of its punishing water-shedding schedule to a day and the unveiling of measures meant to attract and retain investment.
Lack of water and incentives connived, with other factors of course, to throttle the city’s development for a few years. Their cumulative effect rendered the lives of a majority of residents, and business, miserable. With as many as 100 companies closing in the city in recent years, at least 20, 000 people lost jobs. Their jobs obviously went with their incomes, and many led and still do, impoverished lives, made worse by the fact that they lacked something as basic as water to drink.
Council had for many years been rationing water as its five (now they are six) supply dams got depleted every year due to poor inflows occasioned by little rain falling in their catchment zones in Matabeleland South. The idea was to conserve the little available water, but mid 2012 council escalated its conservation strategy by introducing water shedding. This means completely cutting off supplies for days.
It started around July 2012 with a 72-hour cut, which is three days, before it was increased to 96 hours, that is four days without water for residents, not the central business district and factories.
It has been a difficult 19 months for Bulawayo. Notwithstanding the dry taps, residents adjusted reasonably well. It was better to receive water a few times a week, but when supplies resumed, the water was clean and safe one could drink straight from the tap. In parts of the country, drinking direct from the tap equals diarrhoea or typhoid.
We believe we have overcome our worst phase in terms of water supply with Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo yesterday delivering a good piece of news that the local authority had reduced the shedding schedule to 24 hours.
“This,” he said, “has been made possible by some inflows into the city’s dams, which have brought the overall combined percentage total to 40,4 percent as at January 8, 2014.”
He, however, said the new schedule was flexible, meaning it can be tightened if conditions worsen or further relaxed if conditions improve.
Profound gratitude goes to God for blessing the New Year with the prevailing wet spell that has improved inflows and resulting inflows into homes. However, we have to intensify our prayers so that more rains fall for Insiza, Umzingwane, Lower and Upper Ncema, Inyankuni and Mtshabezi dams to overflow for the first time in a long time.
That would guarantee future supplies for the thirsty city and we revert to the old days of consistent water supply.
We now have more water, but not jobs. Industry remains on its last legs as the hostile macro-economic circumstances continue on a dismal path.
Council yesterday announced basically two incentives to help attract investment, as well as retain the little that remains.
It reversed penalties charged on firms that owe it money through rates and water usage. He said the local authority would also reverse interest charged on the December 2013 balance on condition that the company clears its dues before the end of June. It is a pardon on bad commercial debtors, six months after the same moratorium was given to residents.
At the same time, council reviewed downwards annual charges for business licences. Last year businesses paid $150 for an area between 20 and 50 square metres but they will now pay the same amount for an area between 31 and 100 square metres. The council was charging $450 licence fees for an area between 150 and 300 square metres and now businesses will get 1,001 to 2,000 square metres for the same amount. Council deems these two as good incentives in its own efforts to revive industry in Bulawayo. We recognise the efforts as we have largely tended to look outside of the city for solutions to arresting the flight of investment from it.
We expected Dimaf to do it for us, financial institutions to do the same, Zimra to offer moratoria on tax and so on. There is nothing wrong with expecting this, but council, as the local authority, had to demonstrate it could play a role in the broader effort by central government to have Bulawayo work again.
At its level, central government is sure to soon declare Bulawayo a special economic zone to help attract and retain investment here. Such policy congruence between council and central government is encouraging. Both parties have to, individually and collectively, create that conducive framework and then wait for the response from investors.
But the two council incentives appear to be geared towards businesses already in the city, as a new investor cannot enjoy the reversal of penalties while annual charges concern businesses when they are already set up.
But they have to build on some piece of land, and that piece of land has to be affordable. What is council saying about land prices for new investors or existing ones seeking to expand? How about on housing, since growing investment creates more jobs and the need to accommodate workers. What is council doing about the cost of land for residential development?
Online Reporter