Ward 6 Councillor, Nkosilathi Hove-Mpofu, has urged the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to hire competent service providers to install water and sewer reticulation systems in his ward.
Cllr Mpofu spoke during a recent full council meeting while the council debated the Engineering Committee’s report.
Councillors were raising concerns about the recurring sewer bursts in various parts of the city.
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Ward 6 falls under the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing scheme, which has many unserviced households. Cllr Mpofu noted that while other councillors were worried about burst pipes, his ward faced a different challenge – a complete lack of sewer systems.
“The issue of burst sewers is a major concern for this council,” he said. “My colleagues are complaining about repeated sewer pipe bursts in their wards, but we have Ward 6 in Cowdray Park, which is entirely unserviced. There are no sewer pipes to burst. Could the respective committee chairperson tell us what plans are in place to service the over 10,000 households in my ward?”
“What is our city doing to address their situation? There’s a high chance we might simply say there’s no money, but with this many households, can’t we partner with reputable companies that have the capacity to service these stands? Aren’t these houses enough security to attract a contractor who can get the job done?”
Cllr Mpofu said residents in his ward were willing to pay for the services and were waiting for assistance from the local authority.
“Residents of Cowdray Park will not object to being billed for these services because they are the ones being affected,” he said. “They understand that they received those stands on the condition that they would be serviced. Due to economic circumstances, a one-time payment might be difficult, but this is where we come in as local authorities. We need to stop talking about unserviced stands.”
“There are several companies we can engage with. People in Cowdray Park are using Blair toilets. These toilets are now full and need to be emptied. We had this conversation before, and no solutions were offered. As councillors, we are tired of making promises to residents that their problems will be fixed. If the relevant department has concrete solutions, they can come and talk to the residents.”
