As Bulawayo’s water woes worsen, Ward 19 residents are appealing to well-wishers to assist them in rehabilitating one of the broken-down boreholes in their community.
Bulawayo is facing a severe water shortage, with the city council supplying water to residents only two days a week. The situation is attributed to the El Niño-induced drought, which resulted in poor rainfall.
The local authority has repeatedly called on the government to declare the city a water crisis area, believing this would help seek external assistance to address the problem.
When a CITE news crew visited the community on Thursday morning, residents were seen collecting water from an unprotected stream, while others were doing their laundry.
They acknowledged that the water was dirty but said they had no alternative.
The residents identified one borehole, situated behind Godlwayo Primary School, that could be rehabilitated to help alleviate the water crisis.
A resident, Likha Nuku, expressed the community’s desperate need for safe alternative water sources.
“We are appealing to the city council to address this water crisis. We need more boreholes. Several boreholes around the community are not functioning and need rehabilitation,” he said.
“Although we have water kiosks, they are insufficient for the size of our population. We are calling for the rehabilitation of our boreholes. In the meantime, we request the city council to allocate more water bowsers so we can access clean water.”
Another resident, who asked not to be named, explained that water is available only briefly and sometimes gets disconnected before they can fill their containers.
“We last had water on Sunday, and it was only for a few hours. It was disconnected before we had finished filling our containers. This is our life now—getting water from unprotected streams. It is unhealthy. We hope well-wishers will understand our plight and help us by rehabilitating our boreholes,” he said.
Mrs Dlodlo, a 65-year-old resident, shared that she lives with her grandchildren and makes numerous trips to the stream to fetch water.
“We come here to get water for domestic uses such as washing, flushing the toilet, and bathing. This water is not clean and puts us in danger. But what option do we have? I am old, and I live with my grandchildren. They cannot carry containers bigger than a 5-litre gallon, so I have to make several trips to have enough water in the house,” she said.
“I don’t even have a wheelbarrow to carry the water, which would reduce the number of trips I make. We urgently need more alternative water sources.”
Another resident, who was doing her laundry at the stream, said the situation forces them to fetch water as they sometimes go up to three weeks without it.
“We come here occasionally to do our laundry, depending on how often we get water reconnections. The council is not adhering to the schedule they provide. Sometimes we go without water for two to three consecutive weeks,” she said.
“Children are not going to school; they spend the whole day playing at home. Their clothes need regular washing, and this is the only option we have. There’s nowhere to hang the clothes to dry here, so I have to carry them back home. I don’t have a wheelbarrow either, so it’s a difficult task.”
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) Organising Secretary for Ward 19, Nhlanhla Moyo, called on well-wishers to assist the community in rehabilitating their boreholes.
“The situation in our community is dire. We are appealing to well-wishers to help us rehabilitate one of our boreholes. We believe it would ease the water crisis. Right now, people are collecting water from unprotected streams, which poses a serious health risk,” Moyo said.
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