adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
PLUMTREE Municipality needs more than $300,000 to upgrade its 79 kilometre water pipe system to address erratic supplies in the town. In an interview, Plumtree Town Secretary, Davis Dumezweni Luthe said the town constantly experiences water shortage because pipes are now obsolete.
He said they had presented a proposal to have the pipe system replaced under a Unicef programme to assist local authorities facing water challenges.
“The (Unicef) 14 Towns Urban Wash programme is at the first phase and our town has been listed to benefit under the second phase.
“We have presented this project to have our pipe system upgraded and we are waiting for approval,” said Luthe.
He also pointed out that water problems were exacerbated by residents’ failure to settle their bills.
Recently, the local authority took over provision of water from Zinwa, a move that saw the municipality replacing pumps that draw water from its two supply dams, Mhlanga and Mangwe.
“We have two supply dams which are Mhlanga Dam which is situated about 14 kilometres from the town and Mangwe Dam which is 56 kilometres away.
“The problem that we have is that the pipes cannot withstand the pressure of water generated by these new pumps,” said Luthe.
He said they had purchased a truck to attend to water supply disruptions.
Meanwhile, the local authority is constructing a primary school, Matiwaza, which is expected to open in the next three months.
He said school was expected to help ease congestion in existing ones within the town.
Luthe said the local authority held a donors conference recently and the business community, residents and government institutions contributed building materials and cash for the project.
onlinemedia
derick.khumalo