A HEALTH catastrophe is unfolding in Gwanda as some parts of the town have gone for a week without running water. ALBERT NCUBE OWN CORRESPONDENT
High lying areas of Spitzkop and Ultra High townships have been without water since the town council began introducing water-shedding last Saturday forcing residents to use bushes to relieve themselves.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) is owed almost $7 million by the cash-strapped Gwanda Municipality and has resorted to pumping water only from 8am to 4pm in a bid to force the authorities to pay the outstanding debt.
The local authority, which was forced to write off a $3 million debt by a government directive, has also been failing to pay its workers on time.
Zinwa argued that it needed the money to buy purification chemicals amid revelations that it is running out of chlorine to treat water while its employees have also gone without pay.
However, due to low pressure, high lying areas of Spitzkop and Ultra High have not been getting running water and council has been supplying water to residents in bowsers.
“The water we are getting from the bowser is not clean. Besides it’s inadequate as we are getting 20 litres per household. We go to the bush to relieve ourselves as we can no longer use the toilet. We are afraid our children may get diarrhoea,” Sithandekile Ncube, a Spitzkop resident, said.
Gwanda town clerk Gilbert Mlilo said they were engaging Zinwa to find a solution to the problem.
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“We are in the process of talking to Zinwa right now to find a lasting solution to the problem,” Mlilo said.
Zinwa’s Um||zingwane catchment manager Tony Rosen said he could not comment as he was at a workshop.
