The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has urged residents to be patient on the implementation of the water and sewer services rehabilitation project being financed through a $33 million grant from the African Development Bank (AFDB).
In 2016 the Government of Zimbabwe received a grant from the AFDB to finance the Bulawayo Water and Services Improvement Projects (BWSIP).
According to the local authority, part of the grant will be used to implement a water and sewerage improvement program as well as the health and wellbeing of the residents.
“As the council, we have noted the complaints by residents that other than repairing some pipes what other new projects are we implementing to ensure that there is enough water supply,’ said Nesisa Mpofu, council` senior public relations officer.
“We are also faced with foreign currency shortages to procure the equipment and contractors. One of the projects is the repairing of a 30 inch supply pipeline at Ncema.”
“More work will also be done to normalize and manage water supplies at the Magwegwe Reservoir”.
Mpofu added that the grant will also cover water connection in areas like Cowdray Park and Pelandaba West as well as the replacement of water tapes in Iminyela and Mabuthweni suburbs.
“Residents should acknowledge that they witness all the projects because some of the projects are underground work, for example, the replacement of old water pipes”.
Meanwhile, she assured residents said that in order to improve service delivery and communication with residents, the local authority has begun data collection exercise.
“The program will help the local authority in gathering information that will be used to identify areas that need water and sewer implementation.
“We are working with a local construction and engineering company to gather data on property ownership and essential information.”
Mpofu said that the exercise began in February and will end on May 31, 2019.
