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Apparently refuting fellow MDC-T party member, Minister of Water Resources Management and Development Samuel Sipepa Nkomo’s assertion that the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (NMZWP) would be completed in three years, the Mayor said it was a pipe dream.
“The Zambezi project is now 100 years old. If you look at the workings of Central Government regarding projects in the region, you should not have reason to think it can be completed in five years,” he said.
Clr Moyo said the city would continue putting pressure on the Government to speed up completion of water projects in Bulawayo.
“We will be making noise in coming weeks. We will not just be knocking on their door, but we will be banging noisily for attention,” he said.
Discussing the remarks about “bowsing” water from the Zambezi River, after the event, journalists agreed that the Mayor must have been joking.
“He could not have been serious. I think it was an attempt at a joke. The idea is so ridiculous I shudder to think of the fate of the city that has been entrusted to his leadership, if he was serious,” said a member.
The city has decommissioned two of its five supply dams. Two more are likely to be decommissioned before the end of the year.
Serious water shortages have forced the city to adopt a 72-hour water shedding schedule every week, for all suburbs.
The city’s hopes largely rest on plenty of rain falling before the end of the year.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter