Chronicle Editor
Fairness Moyana in Hwange
CLOSE to 700 families from Empumalanga Phase 4 suburb in Hwange town have gone for three weeks without water as the brawl between the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and the Hwange Local Board (HLB) rages on.
Health experts have raised concern over potential risks of water-borne diseases at a time when the district has been flagged as one of the deadly cholera hotspots after the disease claimed five lives recently.
Zinwa disconnected the suburb three weeks back over the ballooning arrears amounting to Z$105 million owed by HLB.
The residents have since applied to the police to hold a peaceful march against council this Friday to force the authority to resolve the crisis and restore normal water supplies.
“This war is seriously affecting us as this is not the first time we have been without running water. It’s unfair that the two authorities are dragging innocent residents into this fight. Let them fight but leave us out of it because what we need is water,” said Mr Simon Sibanda, a resident.
An elderly woman who spoke on the sidelines of a community meeting said the unavailability of running water was straining them and appealed for Government intervention.
Residents said the disconnection of water supplies was unfair as they were paying their bills but have unfortunately become victims of the wrangle between the two utilities.
“We are forced to go and queue for a bowser that brings water in a 5 000-litre tank and each household is only allowed to get four buckets no matter how many people you are at home,” fumed the resident.
Another resident, Mrs Fagi Mpala, said the debt in question was none of their business.
The situation has created opportunity for water barons who are taking advantage of the desperate residents to make profits by supplying a few buckets of water at a fee. In some instances, violence has broken out at water distribution points amid complaints of favouritism by self-imposed marshals.
A 71-year-old Gogo Mathe said she did not understand why she was being made to suffer since she was up to date with her bills arguing that council actually owed her.
Mr Piwe Ngwenya who is chairperson of the local area committee said they have held a series of meetings to push the two warring parties to address the problem.
His counterpart, Mrs Irene Shangwa who is the vice chairperson said the situation was terrible for people with disability, elderly and women with young children.
“There is cholera now and we need to flush the toilets but how can we do that without water?” she said.
Efforts to get a comment from HLB acting town secretary Mr Paulos Mabhureni were fruitless as his mobile went unanswered while Zinwa corporate communications and marketing manager, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga had not responded to written questions.
Online Reporter