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Blessings Chidakwa

Municipal Reporter

Government has handed over equipment bought under a US$9,3 million Treasury facility to Harare City Council in fulfilment of President Mnangagwa’s pledge to tackle water challenges facing the capital and other local authorities countrywide.

Speaking at Warren Control Pump station, where equipment for the revamping of Harare water supply systems was received yesterday, Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo said the President remained committed to improving the water situation in the country.

Minister Moyo said moves to address the water crisis facing Harare and other parts of the country were a positive indication that the President continued to give high priority to water and was taking steps to improve access to water supply and sanitation.

“The President said we must step in and help Harare and other local authorities as much as we can. We hope that this project which you know very well is at the heart of the President’s drive to correct the water supply situation not only in Harare, but in all the cities in the country,” he said.

“The President is very keen to see a significant improvement of the water supply system throughout the country. He believes strongly that if we improve water supply and sanitation, we will be able to fight and contain water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera.”

Cabinet directed Treasury to release US$9,3 million for urgent works at Manyame and Warren Control Pump stations to alleviate potable water shortages in Harare and its surrounding towns.

This, Cabinet directive sought to provide a lasting solution to water problems in Harare.

Last November, President Mnangagwa toured the Morton Jaffray Waterworks and pledged to hammer out an initiative to improve the treatment and supply of water for Harare, Bulawayo and other local authorities across the country.

“It costs money, but my Government is prepared to finance the programme, phase one, two and three, we are going to finance it,” the President said then.

Minister Moyo implored contractors and the council to work day and night to ensure that the programme to improve water supply in Harare would be completed within a short space of time.

“The project was initiated by HCC and later on President Mnangagwa took over after realising the urgency and dire situation that was in the city upon his visit to Morton Jaffray. It was during this visit that the two immediate bottlenecks to Harare’s water supply were identified,” he said.

“The President directed that US$9, 3 million be urgently allocated for procurement of equipment. The immediate problems included the initially five pump sets and starters located underground within Morton Jaffray premises, (known as Darwendale pump station).”

Over the past few years, Government has assisted the Harare City Council to tackle the water crisis facing city residents.

“Yesterday (Tuesday) in Cabinet a decision was taken to assist Harare to procure chemicals. Those chemicals will be procured because of the financial arrangement that we as Government have made with Chemplex and the Ministry of Industry,” he said.

“Given what we have analysed during last week’s failure by Harare to deliver water to the people because of chemicals, the President directed the financial arrangement so that we can assure the residents of Harare that there will be purified water coming to Harare, but pumping is your responsibility.”

Minister Moyo said Government wanted contractors to fix and replace the 14 pumps on an incremental basis so that residents can immediately access water.

Harare mayor Jacob Mafume promised that the local authority will take good care of the equipment.

He hailed President Mnangagwa for his commitment to address the water crisis facing the city. Equipment that was received included starters, valves and speed drives. The other equipment was still in transit.

Harare, Bulawayo and most other local authorities across the country are facing acute water shortages that have forced many people to wait in lines at communal wells, streams and boreholes. Zimbabwe’s water shortage was largely due to a serious drought that hit  southern Africa last season.