Zimbabwe: Address Water Crisis, Government Urged

Posted November 9, 2006 in [Water]

The Herald (Harare)

THE water crisis currently being experienced in some urban areas in Zimbabwe needs to be urgently addressed to ease the plight of residents who are spending several days without water, Senate heard yesterday.

Masvingo Senator Cde Dzikamai Mavhaire (Zanu-PF) said existing infrastructure in most urban areas was being overwhelmed as more people had moved to cities and towns.

He was contributing to a motion moved by Lobengula-Magwegwe Senator Mr Thabiso Ndlovu (MDC) on the acute water shortages in Bulawayo and possible solutions.

Cde Mavhaire said the water crisis was not confined to Bulawayo alone but also to the capital city Harare and other towns.

"Let us look at all towns and make sure that they have water. Government must have a master plan of infrastructure because even industries, they won't function without water.

"Even tourists, they won't come if they know that they would spend two days without a bath because of water shortages," he said.

He said Zimbabwe was lucky to have rivers and underground water but what was needed was to invest in dams for the benefit of future generations.

Mutare-Mutasa Senator Cde Mandi Chimene (Zanu-PF) said water was easy to bring to the people because there were criminals in prisons who were spending time doing nothing instead of being used to dig canals.

"In other countries, there are water canals as big as rivers. Convicted criminals should dig those water canals to bring water to the people," she said.

Mount Darwin-Muzarabani Senator Cde Alice Chimbudzi (Zanu-PF) said in her constituency, clinics did not have water and at times patients were being asked to bring their own water in buckets.

"Let us find ways to bring water to different areas that have this problem. Population is growing in urban areas so infrastructure must be expanded," she said.

Mberengwa-Zvishavane Senator Cde Richard Hove (Zanu-PF) said the motion should address the unavailability of water in different parts of Zimbabwe instead of talking about Bulawayo alone.

He said Zimbabwe has had a ministry that deals with water since 1980, which showed that water had always attracted the importance it deserves.

"We are brought here to confront national problems so let us not be gullible to be told outside what to say in Parliament," he said.

Cde Hove said members of the House of Assembly should confront ministers on what they would be doing to solve some of the problems instead of bringing them to the House as motions.

"Let's not talk as if a city was deliberately neglected. Let's look at areas that were neglected by whites and try to develop them," said Cde Hove.