Mtshabezi spilling as Byo major supply dams fill up
MTSHABEZI dam, one of Bulawayo’s supply dams is already spilling while the city’s other supply dams are almost 80 percent full.
According to the Bulawayo City Council, Insiza is at 82,26 percent, Inyankuni 78,74 percent and Umzingwane is at 71,8 percent full. Lower Ncema and Upper Ncema are at 90,97 percent and 52,94 percent full respectively.
The council said the supply dams now have enough water to last the city more than three years. The local authority’s public relations officer, Miss Bongiwe Ngwenya said the supply dams have enough water to last the city 39 months if the present daily consumption is maintained.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) spokesperson, Mrs Marjorie Munyonga, on Wednesday said the average national dam levels had risen to 78 percent up from 69 percent two weeks ago.
“Water levels of most dams across the country have risen A 42-YEAR-OLD man from Gweru has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for drugging, raping and kidnapping a 23-yearold job seeker.
Christopher Gara of 12 Denham, Gweru, appeared before Gweru Regional Magistrate Mr Morgan Nemadire facing three counts of rape. He was convicted against his own plea of not guilty and was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
Mr Nemadire treated the three counts as one for the purposes of sentencing. Gara will serve 15 effective years in jail after Mr Nemadire suspended three years of his sentence on condition of good behaviour.
It was the State case that on September 9 last year, Gara met a woman who was looking for a job as a domestic worker at a supermarket in Gweru.
Gara lied to the complainant that there was a person he knew who was looking for a domestic worker in Athlone suburb.
He then offered to take her to the house. following the intensified rainfalls obtained in many parts of the country. The national dam level average is now 78,8 percent,” said Mrs Munyonga.
She said dams in the Gwayi catchment were all more than 70 percent full.
Mrs Munyonga said Bubi-Lupane Dam was 84,5 percent while Khami Dam used for irrigation purposes was at 88,8 percent and Insukamini was at 96,9 percent full.
She, however, urged people to use water sparingly despite the good rains so far received. “While the dams now have sufficient water to meet the country’s domestic and irrigation requirements, Zinwa wishes to remind water users that water remains a finite resource which needs to be conserved and used efficiently,” she said.
Mrs Munyonga appealed to all raw water users wishing to use water from Zinwa managed dams to start working on the renewal of their water abstraction agreements for the coming water year which starts on April 1. — @AuxiliaK
The court heard that the two boarded a commuter omnibus using Mvuma Road and they disembarked at a junction after Pfende Business Centre. Gara then gave the complainant three pills to take claiming they were antibiotics.
It was not stated in court why the complainant took the pills but she then started feeling dizzy and was failing to walk before he carried her into the bush. Gara stripped her before raping her without any protection. Later that day he moved her to another bush area where he again raped her.
He then pretended to be on a phone call and assured the complainant that the woman who wanted the services of a domestic worker was still waiting for them.
Gara held the complainant hostage until midnight before taking her to his lodgings where he raped her for the third time.
On the following morning, Gara offered the woman bread and warm water before she went back to her house where she narrated her ordeal leading to the accused person’s arrest.