Bulawayo unites to resist takeover of water management

By Tichaona Sibanda
13 February 2007

Bulawayo residents have united to strongly resist the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) from taking over management of water affairs in the city.

Already government and the City Council are locked in bitter dispute after the local authority last week refused to hand over water and sewer management to ZINWA. George Mkwananzi, a political activist in the city, said for the first time in many years residents in Bulawayo had united across the political party boundaries to block ZINWA from taking over the water management.

Last week government wrote to the council ordering it to hand over its water distribution and billing functions to ZINWA. Mkawananzi said such a take-over will worsen the situation in the city. Last week the Mayor, Japhet Ndabeni Ncube, said the transfer would be ‘disastrous’ for his city. At the moment households are already going for three to four days without water, due to the critical water shortage in the province.

Mkwananzi warned the situation was now explosive and that people were very tense about Zinwa’s intention to take over. On Tuesday, councillors met senior government officials where they voiced their concern over the situation.

According to Mkawnanzi ZINWA’s track record was just as bad as the government itself. The government through ZINWA owns all water bodies in the country and sells raw water to local authorities.

‘Everyone knows there is gross maladministration at ZINWA and the guys there are incompetent. Bulawayo city council has done a marvellous job for the last 27 years and you can’t take that away from them,’ said Mkwananzi.