The persistent Bulawayo water crisis has been described as a man-made phenomenon, emanating from mismanagement of funds which should be solely dedicated to water-related projects.
This was established by National University of Science and Technology (NUST) academic and water expert, Dr Lerato Nare, during the annual national residents summit held Thursday in Bulawayo.
The summit ran under the theme “Setting the residents movement agenda for citizens, focused, transparent, accountable and devolved governance.”
Dr Nare noted that the water crisis in Bulawayo is a result of failure to sustain water infrastructure which is now in a dilapidated state.
Bulawayo residents have for the better part of the year been struggling to access water, with some going for close to a fortnight without running water due to a rationing schedule put in place by the local authority.
Dr Nare emphasised that resident associations should press hard on local authorities so that funds which are meant for water related projects are not diverted to finance other projects.
He said it is such situations that result in dilapidated water infrastructure as well as lack of funds to acquire enough chemicals to treat water
Dr Nare further challenged local authorities not to under price water as it is an expensive commodity which needs to be cautiously monitored.
He highlighted that the people who use most water are those in low densities as they have infrastructure and properties that require higher usage of water.
The water expert alleged that in most instances the rich people advocate for low water charges under the facade that the less privileged cannot afford to pay high bills yet in actual fact they will be trying to minimise their bills from being exorbitant since they use large volumes of the precious liquid.
Dr Nare urged resident association leaders to warn residents to desist from watering lawns and and taking long showers using tap water.
