Peter Chawapiwa

Residents of Chivi growth point have said their water stands out as the worst of all potable water that a local authority could supply to residents.
The water comes out of the taps with an uncomfortable dark colouring, leading to speculations that authorities are not observing proper treatment processes.
“The water is of poor quality and many people prefer water from protected wells. The piped water does not at all pass the eye test and we are disgusted,” said Adrian Bvumbwe, a longtime Chivi resident.
Another resident, Kenias Ruzive said it was unacceptable water was rarely available, and that when is available, it is of poor quality.
“Nobody wants to drink the water coming out of the taps. Water from the wells, even those that are not protected, is better for us,” said another resident.
Ward 30 councillor, Dr Tapiwa Murambi said while council ran affairs at the growth point, it was the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa)’s responsibility to supply water.
“I think the best man to give you information on that is the engineer since he should be in liaison with Zinwa,” Dr Murambi said.
However, the engineer, Ronald Mashapa could not be reached for comment.
Council CEO, Tariro Matavire, said an all stakeholders meeting had been convened where Zinwa explained that they were encountering difficulties in sourcing the foreign currency to import all the required water treatment chemicals.
“As it stands, some of these chemicals are not available. We would, however, like to tell our residents that the water is safe for consumption, otherwise supplies would have been stopped,” Matavire said.

Tinaani Nyabereka


GWERU – Dairy farmers in the Midlands province are worried by shortages of stock feed and the consequential increase in prices, and have said they can no longer afford to buy the product and sustain their best capacities.
Midlands Provincial Crops and Livestock production officer, Medline Magwenzi said shortages and high prices of stock feeds was having a severe negative impact on the dairy sector.
“Farmers say it is now very hard for them to get stock feeds on the market and the little that is available is very expensive. This is bad for our farmers who are trying to maintain their herds in face of below normal rainfall in most parts of the province.
“It would be helpful if government reintroduced the stock feeds programme as we had in Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts last year. Farmers were buying the product for $7 instead of the $15 which was being charged by private retailers,” said Magwenzi.
She said the dairy sector was experiencing lower milk yields as farmer could no longer provide their cattle with as much supplementary feeding as they did last year and before.
“The province has a big chunk of the country’s dairy industry but there is need for greater investment and help to make sure the contribution does not diminish,” she said.

Beatific Gumbwanda

Chiredzi Town Council has apologised to residents for the worsening poor service delivery of recent days which the local authority claims is being exacerbated by the current shortage of diesel and petrol.
The council gets its fuel from Tsimeguru which has however been struggling to get supplies; sometimes going for weeks without getting any delivery.
Some people have, however, alleged that the service station is diverting its fuel to the black market with the connivance of corrupt police officers.
Chiredzi Town Council chairperson, Gibson Hwende said service vehicles could no longer respond to such issues as burst pipes and blockages in time due to the shortage of fuel.
“We would like to apologise to our beloved residents that we are facing challenges in accessing fuel and this has resulted in poor responses to emergencies such as sewage blockages and burst water pipes. Our utility vehicles such as the refuse truck are not on the road regularly. We are looking at the alternatives available to make sure everything does not ground to a halt,” said Hwende.
He said council often pays for its fuel in advance but has not been getting the precious liquid for some weeks.
“We have one garage which supplies us with fuel. We have paid up for the fuel but there was not even a single delivery since last week. So what it means is we have to liaise with other fuel suppliers so that when our supplier is dry, they can then assist us,” Hwende said.
One transport operator who spoke on condition of anonymity said some police officers were betraying the public’s trust by aiding the black market.
“Ordinary vehicles find it hard to refuel at Tsimeguru because they are told that there is no fuel. During the night, however, drums are filled up and carried away in the presence of the police,” said one motorist.
Chiredzi has six fuelling stations namely Zuva, Total, Flow, Tsimeguru, Lyonnais and Croco Motors.