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Checked Muchinguri Midlands Correspondent
Government has approved Redcliff’s standstill budget of $8 million, which is aimed at improving roads network, street lighting and water and sewer reticulation.

Redcliff mayor Councillor Fredy Kapuya confirmed the development, saying the local authority was now focusing on delivering quality service to its residence.

“Government approved our $8 million budget and it is now upon us to deliver what we promised the residents,” he said.

“We are very optimistic on improved revenue collection as Zisco, our major player, is currently paying its workers their outstanding salaries,” he said.

Clr Kapuya said focus would be on road patching, street lighting and improving on water and sanitation.

“As you know, last year we received a $2,1 million grant from Africa Development Bank (AfDB), that is the one we are using for our water and sewer reticulation, as well as construction of our water treatment plant,” said Clr Kapuya.

He expressed gratitude to AfDB for the gesture, saying it had gone a long way in easing the burden from their budget.

Clr Kapuya said the council had embarked on repairs of its main water pipeline from Kwekwe.

He said of late, there had been some leakages, which had seen the town facing serious water shortages.

“We are now repairing the water pipes that bring water from our supplier, Kwekwe City, which are now very old,” said Clr Kapuya.

“The steel pipes that were laid by Ziscosteel back in the day are now leaking due to corrosion, so we are in the process of replacing them with asbestos ones.”

Clr Kapuya said almost 56 percent of the water from Kwekwe was being lost due to leakages.

“Imagine the huge water bill from Kwekwe is mostly for water that has not been consumed by our residents, hence the project to try and curb unnecessary loss of this precious liquid,” he said.

Clr Kapuya said $1 million had been channelled towards the project, adding that most of the equipment had been purchased already.

“We have purchased the pipes and are in the process of digging trenches,” he said. “We are hopeful that the pipelines will be laid before the completion of our water reticulation plant.”

Redcliff owes Kwekwe more than $2 million in water bills and has come up with a payment plan that will see the satellite town paying $40 000 every month.