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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
Construction of a $20 million state-of-the-art water treatment plant that is set to address water woes in Beitbridge town has been completed, with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) already carrying out test runs. Government funded the project, which began in 2013, though it missed several targets for completion due to acute shortages of resources.

The new plant has the capacity to pump 2 160 cubic metres of water per hour.

The town, with an estimated population of 73 000, inclusive of 13 000 in transit, requires close to 15 000 cubic metres of water daily.

Zinwa’s corporate communications and marketing manager Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said yesterday that the plant would be fully functional by mid-July.

“The project is complete and the equipment is undergoing a test run until the end of June 2017,” she said. “The major delay in completion was caused by the unavailability of offshore funding to pay a sub-contractor, who installed pumps and required $2 million in the form of offshore funding.

“Government, through Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has since paid the sub-contractor and hence the commencement of the test runs.”

Beitbridge border town is facing serious water shortages, which heightened soon after Zinwa introduced prepaid bulky water metres.

According to Zinwa, the pumps were installed in March to recoup the $12 million debt owed by Beitbridge Town Council.

The local authority claims it owes Zinwa less than $4 million and that most of the water is lost through leaks.

The Herald is reliably informed that the council’s collection rate stands at 22 percent, which is not enough to get at least $170 000 worthy of water for a month’s supply.

Mrs Munyonga said Zinwa and the town council had an agreed a payment plan.