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The latest deadline was the end of this month but indications are that this deadline cannot be met.
Last year, the completion of the pipeline missed four deadlines.
The delays in completing the project has put Bulawayo in a very dire situation as it had pinned its hopes on completion of project meant to boost the city’s water supplies.
One of the city’s supply dams, Upper Ncema, was decommissioned in March and Umzingwane Dam is likely to follow in a few weeks’ time.
In an interview, the Minister of Water Resources, Development and Management, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, said he could not say when the project will be completed after missing many deadlines.
“I cannot give a specific date because you Press guys will quote me and then take me to task if we fail to beat that deadline. However, I can confidently say before the end of the year, Bulawayo residents will be getting water from the Mtshabezi Dam,” said Minister Nkomo.
He blamed the State Procurement Board for the delays in completing the project.
Minister Nkomo said the Procurement Board took time to conclude the purchase of motors and pumps as well as awarding the tender for the project to bring electricity from Gwanda to the pipeline.
“The buildings and the pipeline have been completed and we are now waiting for the pumps to be brought from South Africa. We will use generators until power has been connected,” said Minister Nkomo.
Contacted for comment, Bulawayo’s Mayor Councillor Thaba Moyo said the delays in completing the project had worsened an already dire situation.
“This is bad news. Water shedding would have been the best solution but from past experience, it is not practical. It increases blockages and damages the system,” said Clr Moyo.
He said the other solution that could be implemented in coming weeks would be to tighten water rationing.
“Residents might be inconvenienced as some have said in the past that the amount of water they are allowed to use per month is inadequate. However, it cannot be avoided. We are going to discuss the matter during the full council meeting next week,” he said.
Clr Moyo appealed to residents to conserve water, saying the survival of the city depends on every little drop that is saved.
The city has been under water rationing for more than three years and the director of engineering services, Engineer Simela Dube, is on record saying rationing would not be lifted until after the completion of the pipeline linking Mtshabezi and Umzingwane dams.
Eng Dube yesterday refused to comment on the city’s water supply situation saying the issue would be discussed during the full council meeting.
At present, the water rationing allows residential flats with individual meters to use not more than 350 litres a day.
Metered houses in the high-density suburb are expected to use 350 litres of water a day.
Individual metered houses in the eastern suburbs are expected to use 400 litres while institutions and companies are allowed to use 60 to 80 percent of the water they were using for the six months ending December 2009, depending on the institution.
Council has also increased fines for residents overshooting their monthly allocations.
The penalty for using a hosepipe for non-industrial activities is now $100. Those caught using domestic water for construction are fined $1 000 and those who use water for moulding bricks also pay $1 000 fine.
Illegal connections now attract a $1 500 fine.
The National Matabeleland Zambezi Pipeline, which was first mooted in 1912, is viewed as the permanent solution to Bulawayo’s perennial water woes.
The city is operating with a deficit of at least four dams, as an additional supply dam is supposed to be constructed after every 10 years.
Insiza dam was the city’s last supply dam to be constructed in 1976.
Online Reporter