The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Saturday, November 16, 1991 — A pledge of $5 million towards the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project Trust Fund has been made by the Bulawayo City Council which also suggested various other ways of boosting the fund.

The money will be drawn from the council’s water reserve fund and will only be released when the project to harness water from the Zambezi River to Bulawayo takes off, the Finance Committee recommended at a recent meeting. The committee recommended that the councillors donate $10 per month to the project and that the local authority provide the MZWP with offices on the ground floor of the City Hall.

The council will also ask members of staff to voluntary contribute to fund and encourage the organisation of concerts and other artistic gatherings at council halls and stadia to raise funds for the project.

The committee also recommended that popular soccer teams be asked to arrange matches and donate the proceeds to the trust fund and that the council authorise street collections in aid of the project.

The council will also approach the Bulawayo Residents’ Association to discuss the possibility of imposing a levy on residents and will give details about the city’s water crisis to its twin city of Aberdeen in Scotland for the residents of Aberdeen to decide on how best they can assist.

The council will donate a stand on the MZWP for the organisation to build a house which will later be raffled. It will approach the government to make all donations to the trust fund tax deductible.