Residents decry water shortages

BULAWAYO residents have complained over recurring water shortages despite claims by city fathers that the local authority has eased water-rationing.

Council claimed that it had lifted the week-long water-shedding regime after recommissioning some supply dams following massive inflows due to heavy rains.

Bulawayo’s supply dams are 70% full.

However, a number of high-density suburbs are going for days without water with council blaming electricity outages for disrupting the pumping capacity.

“What is puzzling residents is how our dams have gained in terms of the volume of water and the statements that have been said on social media and newspapers when council announced that they would be easing the issue of water shedding,” Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) chairperson Ambrose Sibindi said.

“There was an impression that slowly but surely, shedding would be done away with.

“Residents were expecting that from March there won’t be shedding of water and when it happens, residents expect it to be for one day.

“In WhatsApp groups, residents are expressing their surprise over the continued water shedding.

“With the blessing that we got from God of rains, people believe that water shedding must just go and council must let the water flow everyday.”

The affected suburbs are Old Pumula, Nketa and Sizinda among others.

Mayor Solomon Mguni said the water shortages were caused by power outages.

The city has been experiencing power outages from the time a fire broke out at the Hwange Thermal Power Station recently.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority blamed the excessive rains and damages to its infrastructure, as well as theft of electricity cables for the outages.