Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has expressed frustration over delays to the long-awaited Glass Block Dam project, blaming central government bureaucracy for stalling progress despite significant funding commitments.
The Glass Block Dam, to be constructed on the Mzingwane River in Matabeleland South, is regarded as a medium-term intervention to address Bulawayo’s deepening water crisis, which has left residents facing frequent water rationing and shortages in recent years.
In a technical report titled Glassblock/Bopoma Dam and Groundwater: Feasibility and Strategic Importance, Bulawayo City Council warned that the city could face a “permanent water deficit by 2040” unless decisive action is taken to expand supply.
The proposed dam is expected to hold about 14 million cubic metres of water and could deliver up to 70 megalitres (ML) per day within three years, at an estimated cost of US$0.90 per cubic metre.
Speaking during his keynote address at the Annual National Residents Summit, which began on Thursday in Bulawayo under the theme Re-thinking and Reclaiming the Social Accountability Agenda for Improved Decentralised Service Delivery, Coltart said failure to advance the project was worsening the city’s already critical water situation.
The summit was hosted by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) in partnership with the Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA), the Zimbabwe United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (ZURRA) and the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA).
“We face three critical issues in relation to water. Firstly, we have a shortage of raw water. This city has not constructed a new dam since the 1990s. Our engineers have long been aware of this and have planned for it,” he said.
He said the project was first identified in the 1980s by senior city engineers, including George Mlilo, and that a feasibility study was conducted in 1988.
Coltart said efforts to revive the project gained momentum in December 2024, when a delegation comprising the Town Clerk, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) and the Ministry of Finance presented it at the African Investment Forum hosted by the African Development Bank in Morocco.
“We lobbied for US$98m for the construction of Glass Block Dam. We presented a united front, the city council, a private consortium to construct the dam and the government, represented by ZIDA and the Ministry of Finance. We were one of six projects across Africa to receive a favourable response,” he said.
He added that international financiers, including Standard Bank South Africa and the African Development Bank, had indicated they would contribute US$93m towards the total required amount.
However, nearly two years later, Coltart said there had been no movement.
“I stand here in April 2026 and that project hasn’t moved an inch because of bureaucracy within central government. It is unacceptable,” he said.
He called on residents’ associations to advocate for the project, urging them to rise above political divisions.
“Water does not have a political colour. It does not represent any political party. It is a fundamental right for all residents,” he said. “Residents’ associations have connections across the political divide and need to use those to ensure that a project like Glass Block Dam is built.”
Beyond the dam project, Coltart said ageing infrastructure was severely affecting water delivery.
“Secondly, we face major infrastructure challenges. Some of our key facilities have not been rehabilitated for decades,” he said, citing the Ncema Pump Station, where some pumps are between 30 and 40 years old and operating at around 30% capacity.
He said the pipeline from Insiza to Ncema, constructed in 1975, has not been rehabilitated and is operating below capacity, with similar challenges affecting supply from Mtshabezi.
“It is hugely frustrating, particularly in a season of good rains, when some of our dams are full, yet we cannot deliver water to residents because infrastructure has not been restored or renovated for decades,” he said.
Coltart said the city requires US$14.5m to rehabilitate pipelines and pump stations, a figure he described as modest in the context of national budgets but beyond the city’s means.
“We have had pledges from government. US$14.5m is not a large sum in national terms if there is political will, but it is money the city does not have. This is a national responsibility,” he said.
He also raised concerns about environmental degradation in water catchment areas, blaming illegal gold mining for low dam levels despite above-average rainfall.
“Inyankuni, one of our major dams, is sitting at about 30% despite the city receiving more than 800mm of rainfall this season,” he said. “Most of our dams are at between 30% and 50% because of rampant illegal gold mining in the catchment areas.”
Coltart said repeated appeals to the Environmental Management Agency, the police and other authorities had yielded limited results.
“If this is not addressed and we experience a drought, we could be left with empty dams,” he warned.
He reiterated the need for stronger backing from residents’ groups to increase pressure on central government.
“Unless we have the power, support and authority of residents’ associations behind these issues, we will not have sufficient impact on central government,” he said.
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