As Bulawayo residents grapple with severe water challenges, the local authority suggests declaring the city an emergency water crisis area to bypass certain processes and expedite critical projects like the Insiza pipeline duplication.
Residents are enduring a 120-hour water-shedding schedule, with high-lying areas suffering the most, often going months without receiving a drop in their taps.
Speaking during the Ward 17 budget consultation and vendors update meeting, resident Thokozani Mabaleka urged the local authority to speed up the Insiza Dam pipeline duplication project.
The Insiza Dam duplication project is a key initiative aimed at addressing Bulawayo’s water supply challenges. This involves constructing a second pipeline to enhance the capacity of water transfer from the Insiza Dam to the city.
The estimated cost for this project is about US$18-US$20 million.
Currently, the existing pipeline can only carry about 17 megaliters of water per day, which is insufficient for Bulawayo’s needs. The new 600mm pipeline will run parallel to the existing 900mm pipeline, increasing the total capacity to 71,000 cubic meters per day.
This plan is considered a mid-term solution to alleviate the city’s water shortages.
“We are expecting that they fix the Insiza Dam urgently, but according to this document, it says the advertisement of the Insiza tender is yet to be done, yet we don’t have water. For the tender to pass, the government has to sit down again, which means we will reach December without water. Can you speed up the advertisement of the tender for Insiza?” Mabaleka pleaded.
In response, Bulawayo City Council Engineer Howard Sibanda said delays in budget approval significantly affect such projects.
“We have advertised the tender, and contractors have gone to the site, but we are not allowed to make any move if our budget has not been approved. We are not even allowed to go on tender, and if the budget is approved, we have what we call a procurement plan. The government does not allow us to wake up one day and have bought equipment; they tell us what we will buy at the start of the year. So, the delay in budget approval caused the delays in putting out these tenders,” said Sibanda.
“We are only beginning now to do some jobs which were meant to start around January-March.”
Engineer Sibanda also explained that the local authority has to seek permission first before embarking on the project.
“The second delay is that these dams have different ownership; Insiza Dam is not owned by Bulawayo. If we want to do any work there, we have to seek permission from the water authority to duplicate a line. This tender that I am talking about is 6-8 years old,” he said.
“That is why the Mayor himself is advocating for Bulawayo to be declared an emergency water city. This declaration is what gives us the power to skip other processes, but as long as we are not declared, we have to follow procedures,” said Eng. Sibanda.
He added, “We hear your concerns that the process delayed, but to get here it has been an eight-year walk, but now it is moving.”
