Civil Society Organizations CSOs in Bulawayo have implored the treasury to urgently release the outstanding funds from the amount that was approved by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to address water shortages in the city.
The recommendations were made by Khumbulani Maphosa on behalf of Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) and Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, and the Thematic Committee on SDGs during a public hearing session conducted at the Large City Hall on Monday.
“The Treasury should urgently release the remaining $15 million approved by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development to Bulawayo City Council, in US dollars to avoid conversion losses. The market requires USD currency and being given this money in local currency will cause the value of the money to erode,” Maphosa said.
“The executive should implement measures to address immediate water infrastructure concerns and increase National Budget allocations for water service infrastructure by 10%. Lake Gwayi-Shangani dam completion must be expedited, the pipeline and related processes, ensuring fair compensation for displaced individuals. We do not want to drink water that is laced with tears of displaced individuals.”
Maphosa added that ZINWA’s role must be reconsidered in light of the 2013 Constitutional Devolution dispensation and capacity constraints.
He noted that there must be innovative and alternative funding sources, such as climate funds, social impact bonds, and natural resource extraction proceeds so that the local authority does not solely depend on bills for revenue.
Another resident, Bruce Munyoro, urged the local authority to come up with ways to harvest water during the rainy season noting that there is a lot of water that is lost due to poor drainage systems especially in the CBD.
Another resident, Thamsanqa Ndlovu, said there must be political will from the central government to address the water challenges in Bulawayo, citing that there have been a lot of meetings that have been held about water but no solutions have been found.
