The ManicaPost
THE move by the Mutare City Council to resume the construction of a water pipeline line that will avail adequate water to Dangamvura and Fern Valley suburbs is laudable.
This will certainly sound good in the ears of residents in the two suburbs who went for more than 10 years facing acute water shortages.
Some areas in these locations that are situated on high ground have never witnessed a drop of water coming out of their taps.
As a result, household piping systems have since succumbed to rust that got the better of the galvanized pipes over the years.
Elsewhere in this issue we carry a refreshing story in which Mutare Town Clerk, Mr Joshua Maligwa, revealed that the local authority is seeking $700 000 to finish the duplicate water pipeline that was abandoned midway seven years ago after council lost $330 000 to a bogus shelf company.
We hope this will solve the water woes once and for all and help the city attract investors as well as expand.
The water situation in Mutare can be best described by the Shona idiom “kufanenyota makumbo ari mumvura” which when loosely translated means dying of thirst when your legs are submerged in water.
The Eastern border city is known countrywide to have the cleanest water which is in abundant supply from the Pungwe Water Project, Odzani Water Works and Small Bridge.
However, the problem facing the city is a result of structural and human shortcomings that have resulted in water — which is abundantly available — failing to be distributed evenly.
As for Dangamvura and Fern Valley, the existing pipe that feeds the reservoir from the Christmas Pass tanks has a low conveyance capacity which is not tallying with residential and industrial growth.
We are told that the water pipeline that feeds Dangamvura high-density suburb was laid in the mid 60s when the location was still small.
The urban set up has grown exponentially over the years. In 2000, the construction of the duplicate bigger line started but it has not been completed to date because of poor funding as well as corruption.
The $330 000 boob was a clear case of corruption as city fathers okayed the payment of the money to the bogus supplier without getting anything as collateral to guarantee supply of the pipes.
There was no due diligence.
We side with Mr Maligwa in his new thrust to complete the project and hope that he will get the necessary support to do things right and end the water woes. Yes, the $700 000 is coming but we demand that the funds be used for the intended purpose.
We don’t want a repeat of what happened in 2012 when council lost $330 000 to Shitazburg Investments. Our eyes are now wide open.
We urge the city fathers to focus on this project and bring back smiles to suffering residents who are walking long distances in search of water from unprotected sources.
The provision of safe drinking water is a basic human right, Mutare City must stand guided.
