Ward 4 councillor Silas Chigora has implored the local authority to drill boreholes in the city’s Eastern suburbs, saying residents there are struggling to access water amid severe shortages affecting the city.
Cllr Chigora made these remarks during a full council meeting on Wednesday.
He urged council to desist from solely relying on donors to sink boreholes in communities but should find alternative sources of funding.
“Eastern suburbs do not have boreholes except for one. During this water crisis residents there have been deeply affected. They do not have any alternative sources of water and some areas have gone for close to a month without running water from their taps,” Cllr Chigora said.
“Only a handful of people in those areas have boreholes in their yards. May the council consider sinking boreholes especially in areas such as Queenspark and Woodville. I have been getting calls from residents as early as 2AM complaining they don’t have water.”
Cllr Chigora said he has tried to explain to the residents that most of the boreholes in communities were donated and the donors usually determine the location.
“People need solutions. They are desperate, they can’t even flush their toilets to say the least. It is not fair for the residents to suffer this much. Council cannot completely rely on donors during such a critical time. It is our responsibility and right to give people water. We need to save money and drill at least one or two boreholes per ward,” he said.
Meanwhile, ward 6 councillor Tawanda Ruzive urged the council to be swift in repairing burst water pipes noting that delays result in loss of treated water which is already in short supply.
“The council is losing a lot of purified water due to leakages. The council staff, when called to attend to these faults, are not quick enough to respond. Every drop of water should be conserved, the city does not have enough water at this moment,” said Cllr Ruzive.
