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| The dirty open well along Munzviru stream where residents have been fetching water over the last four weeks |
Virginia
Njovo
The Zimbabwe National
Water Authority (Zinwa) has for the past three weeks been battling pump
breakdowns, electrical faults and theft of components at its intake tower
installed on Lake Mutirikwi, leaving the people of Nemanwa growth point without
water right into the fourth week.
Distressed residents of
the sprawling growth point told TellZim News they had been fetching water in
the nearby Munzviru stream whose waters are significantly polluted.
“These have been very
difficult weeks for us because we don’t have a better alternative source to the
stream whose water might be suitable for laundry but definitely not for
drinking and cooking. The water has become dirtier in recent weeks due to the
increase in numbers of people going to the stream,” said one resident of the
area.
Due to deep-seated
grievances in services delivery, some residents have organised themselves and
formed the Nemanwa Residents and Ratepayers Association (Nerra) which has since
submitted a letter of grievances to Masvingo Rural District Council (RDC).
The organisation wants Masvingo RDC to drill boreholes for residents as water supplies from Zinwa are hardly reliable.
When contacted for
comment, Zinwa Masvingo regional manager Stanley Nazombe said he understood
residents’ protestations as his organisation had been grappling with many
challenges over the weeks.
“There was a whole
array of problems in our supply system. We had to move our pump to a different
place in the lake in response to declining water levels. We then had a breaking
down in the pumping system, and then an electrical fault. We had also
experienced theft of some components in the pumping system and all this built
up the crisis we had. I am confident though that supplies are most likely to be
restored today (June 22) as everything is now in place,” said Nazombe.
He said Great Zimbabwe
Hotel, which also receives water through the same supply system, had assisted
in the restoration efforts.
However, the following
day (June 23) many residents reported that they still had not received any
water.
