Government drags its feet on declaring Bulawayo a water shortage area

By Lance Guma
27 October 2005

The government has been accused of dragging its feet over declaring Bulawayo a water shortage area. According to officials in the local authority, such a declaration would enable the council to suspend or amend water permits and to make orders for controlling and diverting water usage. Government on the other hand is said to be only interested in strangling the city council and undermining its ability to serve residents.
Essential services in the city have ground to a halt because of a serious water shortage which began in August. Even the city’s capacity to ferry water to clinics, schools and suburbs using water bowsers has been crippled by chronic fuel shortages. According to Executive Mayor, Japhet Ndabeni Ncube, 20 trucks meant to ferry water are just lying idle because of the fuel crisis.
The feeling is that government wants to undermine all opposition led councils and use the collapse of essential services as an excuse to expel officials. So far elected Mayors in Harare, Chegutu and Mutare have either been dismissed or suspended. In each case the minister of Local government has cited incompetence or unsubstantiated allegations of corruption.
Matabeleland, the region in which Bulawayo falls under, has had a long history of dry weather and dam levels are always low. Journalist Lionel Saungweme says people in the region are angry with Mugabe for talking about the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project only towards election times. There is no real commitment to address the water concerns of the whole region and it is highly unlikely Bulawayo will get the water status it has applied for.

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