Find lasting solution to Mat’land water woes

grasp the mettle and complete the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, billed as the panacea to the region’s water woes, and the Mtshabezi-Umzingwane Dam pipelink, which is a stop-gap measure.
We are in the middle of the rainy season but, as we reported on Saturday, the Bulawayo City Council is set to introduce a tighter water-rationing regime for the city as water in the supply dams is at critical levels.
Dam level statistics released by the Director of Engineering Services Engineer Simela Dube showed that the city’s five supply dams – Insiza, Inyankuni, Lower Ncema, Umzingwane and Upper Ncema – collectively held 54,21 percent of their capacity as at the end of last month.
There has been very little inflows into the dams as the rains in this part of the country have so far been erratic.
As a result, the city might be forced to reduce the daily allocation of water to residents. This is very worrying as we are supposed to be in the middle of the rainy season and we shudder to think what the situation would be like when we get to September and October, the hottest months of the year.
What is even more worrying is that everyone is aware of what exactly needs to be done to alleviate water shortages in the country’s second largest city, but it appears there is very little commitment to finding a lasting solution to this perennial problem.
The closest that central Government has gone in addressing this issue is the partial construction of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam, a component of the long-awaited Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project which is aimed at bringing water from the mighty Zambezi River, about 450 kilometres away, and lately the Mtshabezi pipelink project aimed at drawing water from Mtshabezi Dam to Umzingwane Dam, which is one of Bulawayo’s main water sources.
But work on the Mtshabezi pipelink has been moving at an agonisingly slow pace that we wonder if the Ministry of Water Resources is aware of the gravity of the matter. In fact, Bulawayo residents wonder whether this project will ever be completed given the missed deadlines.
Water is not only a lifeline for residents, but for the city’s industrial and commercial sector critical water levels mean that most companies will remain operating at below capacity and worse still, might shut down or relocate to cities where water is not such a problem.
In other words, the much-talked about resuscitation of companies in the city under the $40 million fund for distressed firms will come to nought if the city runs dry.
As we have said before, Bulawayo must not be allowed to die because of water shortages and we urge everyone concerned about the survival and development of the city to put their shoulders to the wheel and find a lasting solution sooner rather than later.
We call upon the Ministry of Water Resources to move with speed and complete the Mtshabezi pipelink as a short-term measure, and mobilise funds to ensure that the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project does not remain a pipe dream.