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Vincent Gono, Features Editor
THE stench of raw sewage has been a characteristic morning greeting to the fresh air searching nostrils of residents of Old Pumula in recent days after the Bulawayo City Council introduced a tight water shedding schedule that has seen some suburbs going for three days without water.
The shortage of the precious liquid that has affected most western suburbs of Bulawayo has seen residents relieving themselves in the open while kids are made to use plastics that are often thrown outside in the morning, heightening fears of diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery.
The predicament and pressure to find alternative sources of domestic water that is affecting mostly women was prompted by the introduction of a 72-hour water shedding schedule from the initial 48 hours that the residents have been complaining about.
Although the city has had perennial water challenges with no practical long term plan to effectively deal with the challenge, the current water shedding regime is said to be caused by electricity shortages as a result of theft and vandalism of Zesa equipment.
The senior public relations officer for the city Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said the long hours were a result of the reservoir levels and urged the residents to be patient as work was in progress to ensure that water supply was restored.
Mrs Mpofu said had it not been for the vandalisation of electricity infrastructure they was not going to be water shedding, adding that the city had not planned to have such a measure.
“You will note that in the advert, we indicated that the programme is subject to change if the reservoir level improves or deteriorates beyond critical level. The shedding is only for 24 hours meaning residents are prepared in advance to store enough for the day. There are over 355 boreholes around the high density which also augment supply especially for secondary use (toilet flushing) and they are always encouraged to boil it so that it’s safe for drinking,” she added.
“This is not planned maintenance, but stealing of cables that is happening randomly across the country, so they are difficult to predict and hence difficult to plan for them. However, we are in constant touch with ZETDC as we are working together given the nature of the challenges,” she said.
She added that the shedding was meant to normalise the Magwegwe Reservoir whose level had been critical for the past weeks due to erratic pumping from Nyamandlovu Aquifer.
“In a bid to manage water supply from the Reservoir, Council would like to advise that there will be an emergency interruption of water supplies to all areas fed directly from Criterion and Magwegwe Reservoir and some surrounding areas,” she said in a statement.
Responding to Sunday News, Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Jorum Gumbo said it is worrying that vandalism have gotten to that level. He said they were putting measures in place to ensure that theft of copper cables was contained if not totally curbed.
“The power supply authority has lost a total value of $1657 707 to theft and vandalism, where only $125 905 of property has since been recovered. A total of 336 cases have been reported and only 45 arrests have been made with a total of 85 years convictions,” he said.
Dr Gumbo said the ministry is working on introducing stern measures to curb any further loss of infrastructure. He said they were doing internal investigations although no Zesa employees have so far been implicated or convicted of any of the cases.
“We are not necessarily saying they are not involved but investigations will be launched and any Zesa personnel who will be implicated will be prosecuted. We will also be implementing measures to prevent any further loss of property. There is a need to consolidate all laws regarding such cases into a singular law to address this issue. Other measures will include regular patrols at base stations and key areas, lobby for the ban of scrap copper dealing. We do not mine copper in Zimbabwe and therefore we believe those dealing in scrap copper have a hand in cases of copper theft.
“We will also deploy security guards at sub-stations, implement stiffer penalties on perpetrators, conduct community awareness campaigns on both TV and radio and also have whistle blowers, who will in turn be rewarded with a percentage of what is recovered from their tip off,” said Dr Gumbo.
Residents have however, called on the Government to find a lasting solution to Bulawayo’s water challenges.
They said the problem cannot be rectified if left in the hands of the city fathers alone. The critical shortage of water in the city’s western suburbs has left it sitting on a health time bomb apart from burdening the women and girl children who are made to shoulder the woes and make sure there is water for everyone in the house.
Women in the city are now living like their countryside counterparts as they are now going to look for water far from the comfort of their houses while bathing has become a luxury that some can simply forgo.
Mornings are therefore punctuated by women with buckets and different other containers of different shapes and sizes on their heads as they move from one area to another looking for different sources of water as the precious liquid is no longer easily accessible from the taps. The way water has become scarce in Bulawayo and the way people, especially women, are now forced to walk long distances that are not town like to get it confirms that indeed water is life.
“We are no longer different from our rural counterparts. From hewers of wood when electricity was still a problem now its water. It seems we will not get any respite anytime soon with the rains seemingly not wanting to fall. We are forced to walk far and wide because without water nothing can be done in the house and it is every mother’s duty to make sure the house is clean and the family is fed.
“We can’t complain although it is difficult, we have to shoulder it. It’s part of our nature and our socialisation. Even those that are working have to ensure that the house is clean and that the family is fed. Our biggest worry is that with the stench that is coming out of the houses as a result of toilets that are not flushed we may soon find ourselves in a serious health problem.
“With the shortage of water, some mothers are leaving their small kids to relieve themselves outside when it gets dark and that is unhealthy. The city council should drill boreholes in suburbs where there are none and refurbish those that are there that are dysfunctional,” said Ms Noster Ndlovu.
Women and girls are the ones most affected by the water crisis as they are the ones bearing the burden of the city’s deepening water woes.
“The water issue has really become a thorn in the flesh for most women. We have children who go to school and the biggest issue is the toilet. Children are never mindful of the fact that there is no water, they would want to use the toilet and you know how it is with toilets that are right in the houses,” she added.
Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairperson Mr Winos Dube blamed the city council and Zinwa for poor planning.
“The City Council and Zinwa are not serious. Why do they have to wait until the eleventh hour to start refurbishing boreholes and talking about the long term strategies. We have a poor planning local authority and an insensitive water authority (Zinwa).
Online Reporter