dyton mupawaenda
Sione Amidu–Bulawayo Bureau
GWANDA Municipality is working towards refurbishing its water treatment plant to boost water supply in line with its population growth.
The council has said the refurbishment of the water treatment plant is one of the top priority projects for this year.
Gwanda Town’s water supply system requires a total overhaul to ensure constant supply. Council pumps 5 000 cubic metres of water per day, a sharp decline from 10 000 cubic metres in 2022.
Residents have expressed concern over the municipality’s capacity to manage water systems as water cuts continue to dog the Matabeleland South provincial capital.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) handed over the management of water treatment plants to Gwanda and Beitbridge municipalities following a Government directive.
Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister, Dr Anxious Masuka, presided over the historic handover ceremony of water treatment plants and water affairs to the two local authorities in line with the Second Republic’s devolution agenda.
Facilitating higher quality water and sanitation services is a top priority as the country moves towards attaining an upper-middle income status by 2030.
Gwanda mayor Councillor Thulani Moyo said when the local authority inherited the water treatment plant from Zinwa, its carrying capacity had depreciated.
“When we inherited the water treatment plant from Zinwa it was dilapidated, we are working on refurbishing it to improve the water supply to the residents. In its current state, its carrying capacity cannot meet the demands of the whole town,” he said.
“Our main priority in the first quarter is to ensure that our residents have an efficient water supply, as our town seeks to attain city status. Some stakeholders are willing to help us in the refurbishment of the plant.”
Clr Moyo said perennial water challenges in Gwanda are affecting service delivery.
“As a local authority, we wish to pump water to the residents for 24 hours a day, but we have erratic water supply problems. Our water treatment plant which used to pump not less than 10 000 cubic metres of water has dropped to 5000 cubic metres due to poor maintenance,” he said.
“With the expansion of the town’s population, the water situation has reached crisis levels affecting essential providers such as schools, Gwanda Provincial Hospital and old people’s homes. There are a lot of people out there who cannot survive without water on an hourly basis such as patients at the hospital and elderly people at the old people’s homes.”
Clr Moyo said the problem has been further worsened by prolonged power cuts resulting in the town going for days without water.
“Although our wish is to ensure a 24-hour constant water supply, we are having load-shedding challenges since pumping raw water, requires electricity,” he said
Clr Moyo implored development partners and businesses to complement efforts by the local authority to develop the town into a city by 2025.
He urged all stakeholders to renovate their buildings as part of efforts to modernise the town.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter