Bulawayo Councillors have criticised the engineering department’s sluggish response to burst water pipes across various wards.
Councillors expressed concern that the delays in addressing these issues lead to the waste of clean treated water, a scarce commodity for residents.
They demanded clearer and more transparent communication channels between themselves, council management, and staff regarding burst pipe repairs.
According to council minutes, reported water pipe bursts rose from 94 in January to 101 in February.
Ward 3 Councillor, Mxolisi Mahlangu, highlighted the recurring problem of slow response times.
“Nearly every councillor complains about burst pipes, especially during water reconnection periods,” Mahlangu said. “The response time from council staff is simply too long, especially considering it’s clean water being wasted. It takes them 12 to 24 hours to respond, even amidst water shortages. We need to know what steps are being taken to address these burst pipes faster. While we acknowledge our aging infrastructure, we need more productive measures.”
Mahlangu also lamented the lack of communication, particularly during weekends.
“There’s no response on weekends,” he said. “Sometimes water reconnections happen over weekends or late evenings. By the time residents realise there’s a burst, it’s night time. We have no designated contact person to report these issues to directly, and water ends up being wasted the entire weekend. Even department heads seem unaware when we follow up. There’s a communication disconnect not only between the council and management but also between management and staff. We need a functional system in place.”
Ward 2 Councillor, Adrian Moyo, echoed Mahlangu’s concerns and suggested implementing weekly reports.
“The high number of bursts is concerning, but the bigger issue is communication,” Moyo said. “We receive no feedback from council staff after reporting a burst pipe. As residents’ representatives, it’s difficult to be kept in the dark while residents wait for answers. If possible, we’d like reports from the engineering department detailing the number of reported bursts per week, the faults attended to, and outstanding issues with their reference numbers.”
Ward 6 Councillor, Nkosinathi Hove-Mpofu, requested a mini council office in his ward, Cowdray Park, due to limited access to services.
“Can we have mini offices set up in Cowdray Park?” Hove-Mpofu requested. “We have limited access to council services because they claim unavailability of transport. There’s already a housing office in our ward. Can’t we have some staff stationed there to handle emergencies like burst pipes more quickly?”
Hove-Mpofu provided a specific example of a recent burst pipe that went unaddressed for two days, causing a flooded road and resident complaints during a water-shedding period.
