Member of Parliament for Pelandaba-Tshabalala constituency in Bulawayo, Joseph Tshuma, has criticised the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) for what he calls a lack of commitment in delivering functional boreholes, leaving residents frustrated with incomplete water solutions.
Tshuma described ZINWA’s efforts as merely “drilling holes” rather than completing boreholes capable of providing water, citing cases where ZINWA abandoned boreholes without necessary equipment, fuel, or maintenance follow-ups.
“ZINWA is drilling holes not boreholes. They are just drilling and leaving it like that. There are so many holes that have been drilled,” said Tshuma in Parliament on Wednesday.
“They do not come back to finish up by putting all the necessities so that water is then drawn. Most of the time they are not there. When they are there, they do not have the fuel, particularly in Bulawayo, they came and then it broke down, they never came back. Like in Bulawayo, I just saw one borehole which was drilled and it was incomplete. I completed it with my own money.”
In response, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement, Dr Anxious Masuka, acknowledged the limitations faced by ZINWA, citing budget constraints and technical difficulties.
According to Masuka, ZINWA’s current resources can only stretch to drilling holes initially, with plans to equip them as funds become available.
“When we say we need resources to complete boreholes as planned, this is precisely what we mean,” Masuka responded.
“We have 31 drilling rigs which we have already acquired as Government, we will not leave these idle at the office until I can get the pipes for equipping the borehole. I will go and drill the boreholes and leave a hole. That is the first thing, before it becomes a borehole. It is actually good progress. We have made so much progress. The Hon. Member is seeing progress that there are holes. The Hon. Member is saying, please complete, for which we want more resources.”
Minister Masuka outlined that ZINWA’s efforts are aligned with the Presidential Rural Development Programme, which targets drilling boreholes in 35 000 rural villages, starting with regions hardest hit by drought.
He explained that Bulawayo, due to its urban classification, is lower on the priority list with only one rig allocated to it, while drought-prone areas receive up to five.
“The policy aims to provide water equitably,” Masuka said, “but due to limited resources, drought-affected regions are prioritised. In Regions 4 and 5, for example, we have drilled boreholes in 372 out of the 635 prioritised wards. Once we see normal rainfall levels, we’ll resume broader borehole installations, including urban areas.”
Pumula MP Sichelesile Mahlangu pressed for specifics on where these boreholes were drilled in Bulawayo, stating that areas known for water shortages remain unserved.
“The Minister said boreholes were drilled in Bulawayo, but where exactly? People in hotspots still lack water access. We need a clear list of locations and timelines for outstanding projects,” said Mahlangu.
Meanwhile, Dr Masuka noted geological issues as another challenge to the successful drilling of boreholes.
“What technicians say is different from what has been raised. We believe that we have granite, this is the geology that we are alluding to, which means that digging deeper, the machines sometimes might find challenges in these rocks. When they do not get the water, it is because the water table has gone down, it is deeper than anticipated,” he explained.
He added that when ZINWA leaves the holes open, they hope to revisit the sites after the rainy season as technical experts believe this approach could yield water sources in the future.
“Specialists say the reason why they did not cover those holes is because they believe that when the rains come, they will then have to go and check on the following year to determine what the position would be regarding the water table. If the water table is at a level which can be worked upon, then they will do that. When it is not the case then they will have to go with a different plan,” Dr Masuka said
The minister went on to explain the government believes that specialists should be deployed to study how boreholes do not sink and disappear without tapping into the water table.
“We need that specialist knowledge. In the past, we used indigenous storage systems. We say if they use their scientific approach together with the indigenous knowledge systems, then we might know where the water is,” Dr Masuka said.
“We need to deploy all the tools that we have because we do not have much money and we cannot use inadequate machines where there is no water and where we know that we will not find the water.”
The water minister was urged to address these concerns raised by communities and MPs through additional research and reallocation of resources to meet peoples’ pressing needs.
