Gwindi admits councils has failed

them the perennial water shortages.
Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, council spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi said it was “not an open secret” the MDC-T led municipality had failed to restore the city to its former status.
He said the city fathers were facing challenges in the “whole set up”, a development, which has seen efficient service delivery being a nightmare to most residents.
“It is not a secret we have not been able to address these problems and built on the momentum we had gained in the past months. The whole set up is facing challenges.
“We are facing a lot of challenges on most issues. We are failing to deal with water shortages because of ageing infrastructure, illegal connections and most importantly, demand has outstripped supply,” he said.
Water shortages, he said, were further compounded by Government departments and residents who are failing to settle rates and water bills.
Government owed council over US$25 million while residents reportedly owe the city fathers over US$170 million.
“The water shortages can only end if there are huge investments in major projects like the Kunzvi project because the current water source is stressed.
“Our daily water production is just over 600 mega litres against a national requirement of 1 300,” Mr Gwindi said. Council, he said, had also failed to deal with illegal shop owners proliferating around the city adding that the city’s leases and licensing database was in shambles.
“I have to admit 60 percent of the businesses in town are illegal and council is failing to deal with the problem. The moment we are trying to stop operations here, some other people are busy operating on the other side of the city,” he said.