Water furore erupts

Some residents cashed in on the confusion and started selling water at public boreholes for up to $1 per 20 litres.

Angry residents attacked their representatives in the House of Assembly and Senate accusing them of failing to lobby for the completion of outstanding water projects in the city.

A majority of high density suburbs had no running water from Monday.

Residents from Cowdray Park, Luveve, Magwegwe, Njube, Entumbane, Emakhandeni, Barbourfields, Mzilikazi, Nguboyenja, Mpopoma, Makokoba, Lobengula, Mabutweni, Iminyela, Pelandaba and Matshobane who expected to have supplies cut yesterday, were shocked when council cut them off on Tuesday.

A snap survey by Chronicle in suburbs that include Nkulumane, Emganwini, Nketa, Old Pumula, Pumula South, Gwabalanda, Cowdray Park, Luveve, Magwegwe, Njube, Entumbane, Emakhandeni and Barbourfields revealed a dire situation as residents thronged boreholes to get water.

Long queues at boreholes were a familiar sight in many suburbs as residents scrambled to get water.

“There has been no water in Pumula South since Saturday. We only have one functional community borehole. We queue for water from about 6am to 9pm,” said a woman who identified herself as MaNdlovu.

Mr Clifford Dube who was in a queue at Pumula South Clinic said residents had to beg officials to allow them to get water from the clinic borehole.

“We wonder what our MPs are doing about this. We do not even know where they are. They are not even making any effort to lobby for the completion of water projects. We cannot even talk of councillors’ labo ngobhopororo. We have long lost confidence in them,” said Mr Dube.

Mr Madodana Sibanda of Old Pumula said the silence of Members of Parliament on the crisis was baffling.

“Such things make us wish elections could be held soon so that we vote for people who will make a difference. As you can see, the queue is very long.

“Those who do not want to spend the whole day here are paying thugs to jump the queue. They pay $1 for every 20 litres the thugs give them,” said Mr Sibanda.

A man who called Chronicle said leaders in the region were spineless and were doing nothing to solve the water problem.

“The leaders are useless, their actions confirm what was said by Enos Nkala about their lack of initiative and courage. How can  Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo say there is no water crisis in the city when we are going for three days without water? Our leaders will accept the situation even if we go for six days without water because they are spineless,” said the man.

A Cowdray Park resident Mrs Sheila Ncube said council should have had the courtesy to announce the changed schedule.

“They have asked us to cooperate in water conservation efforts by not hoarding water, when we comply they turn around and ambush us with a new schedule. From now on, I will be keeping a lot of water in my house, even on days when they say there will be no water shedding,” said Mrs Ncube.

Contacted for comment, the city’s senior public relations officer, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the schedule that council released on Friday was a proposal, which was later altered by councillors.

“The City of Bulawayo notes that the schedule which was in an article of the Chronicle newspaper on Friday was a proposed water shedding schedule of the city. The final schedule was also released in a weekly column that the city has with a weekly newspaper in an effort to advise residents of the changes. Residents who were calling the City of Bulawayo offices were also advised of the changes which had been made,” said Mrs Mpofu.

Vendors have started making money out of Bulawayo’s water crisis by importing plastic containers, which residents are buying in large numbers.

The containers range from five litres to 60 litres and cost between $1 and $35.

Mr Nixon Chinyoka (44), who sells the containers along Lobengula Street, said business was booming as he could make a profit of up to $160 on a good day.

“I sell the five-litre containers for $1, 20-litre at $5, $6 for 25-litre and the 60-litre ones go for $35. After deducting expenses, I can make as much as $160 a day,” said Mr Chinyoka.

He said the fastest selling were the 60-litre drums.

In a bid to stretch supplies to the next rainy season, Bulawayo introduced a 48-hour weekly water shedding schedule for all suburbs on 27 July.

On Monday the schedule was increased to 72 hours per week as supplies in the dams continued to dwindle.

Two of the five supply dams, Upper Ncema and Umzingwane, have been decommissioned.

Lower Ncema and Inyankuni are likely to follow before the end of the year, which would then mean the city would remain relying on Insiza Dam.

The Mtshabezi-Umzingwane pipeline, largely viewed as the short-term solution to Bulawayo’s water problems, has missed so many completion deadlines  that the city fathers have become sceptical about relying on it.

The city has since decided to push for the speedy completion of the duplication of the Insiza pipeline to be able to draw more water from its largest dam, which holds about 80 percent of Bulawayo’s water.

The permanent solution is the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water project which has been on the drawing board for 100 years.

The Minister of Water Resources, Management and Development, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, last month assured the region that the project would be completed in three years, following the securing of funding from China.

Below is the new water shedding schedule, effective from Monday 27 August 2012.