Bulawayo residents will have to endure five days without water after the city council increased its water-shedding times from 108 hours to 120 hours a week.
Water woes in the country’s second largest city continue to worsen at a time when there is a battle against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with its supply dam levels averaging 31%.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise residents that the city will be introducing the 120-hour water rationing programme with effect from Monday, April 27, 2020,” read the statement released Thursday.
For years, Bulawayo has been battling with water shortages and recently the local authority wrote to the central government requesting that the city be declared a water shortage area.
Bulawayo mayor, Cllr Solomon Mguni, stated that the declaration would enable the city to engage donors who would assist to carry out critical repairs of reservoirs and boost water pumping capacity.
“We wrote to the central government, through the Ministry of Lands, Water & Rural Resettlement to have Bulawayo declared a critical water shortage area. This would inform our domestic and international appeal for funding in our water augmentation drive. We all await the said declaration.”
Cllr Mguni said while the local authority awaits a response from the government, there is a need to think of initiatives to save the city from running dry.
“The question now is not about what the city can do for us, but what we can do for the city. Let’s all put our hands on the deck to save lives in Bulawayo. Let’s campaign together for measures to better our situation. Donate a borehole or bowser to save lives in this Covid19 pandemic,” he said.
At the last full council meeting, city fathers suggested that devolution funds be channelled towards an extensive research program which would come up with ways of treating Khami dam water and recycling it for consumption.
