Gwanda water woes set to ease

Loveness Mpofu, Sunday News Reporter
GWANDA’s long awaited five megalitre water reservoir is expected to be completed next month, a development likely to ease the water crisis in the town.

In an interview, Gwanda town mayor Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu said the local authority was happy with progress of the project.

“We have finished building the five megalitre water reservoir which is going to solve the water crisis in the town. Currently, we are in the process of connecting pipes from the existing reservoirs in the surrounding areas to the main reservoir and we expect to be done by end of next month,” said Clr Ndlovu.

The project was initiated in 2011 to address water challenges in the town.

The council had initially projected that the project would be completed by November last year, but failed due to financial constraints. It resumed after the Government availed US$800 000 through the Public Sector Investment Programme.

The water problem in Gwanda has stretched for a long period of time, with the council and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority haggling also contributing to prolonging the crisis. Zinwa had on several occasions cut water supplies to the town, forcing residents to go for days without the precious liquid. The situation once escalated to a point where Gwanda Provincial Hospital had to stop admitting patients and also discharged patients due to water shortages.

In May last year, Gwanda residents petitioned Parliament over water woes bedevilling the town, urging the legislators to take measures to force the Zinwa to hand over water and sewerage management to the council.-@lvydvy1