Govt secures water pumps for Gweru Speaking at a recent International Organisation for Migration workshop for disaster risk management practitioners from across Sadc in Victoria Falls, Local Government and Public Works Minister, July Moyo, said different Government teams were on the ground working on spatial planning for the relocation areas.

Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
GOVERNMENT has come to the rescue of the MDC-Alliance-run Gweru City Council by sourcing four new water pumps for Amapongobwe Dam to avert a potential water disaster that was looming because the main source of water, Gwenhoro Dam, is drying up.

Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing July Moyo last week told parliamentarians in the National Assembly that Government was treating the water situation in Gweru as an emergency.

Gweru City Council has been making frantic efforts to source funds for new water pumps for Amapongobwe, but with no success and has been working on drilling 20 commercial boreholes, especially in the high-density suburbs to avert a water disaster.

Minister Moyo was responding to a question by Mkoba Member of Parliament Amos Chibaya (MDC-Alliance) on measures Government was taking to address water challenges bedevilling the City of Progress.

“I said that Gwenoro Dam was only left with two months’ supply of water,” he said. “Council made a tender which was outrageous and required a lot of money, but we have now been able to get pumps that can pump more water than what was there.

Because of the pumps that we are going to acquire from South Africa that are genuine, we are hoping to have those before the two months for use at Amapongobwe so that we can address the water challenge.”

Minister Moyo said there have been water shortages across the country because of electricity outages in pumping stations in most of urban areas.

“Two weeks ago, we agreed with the Minister of Energy and Power Development, and we were given all the pumping stations throughout the country which include those run by ZINWA, some which are run by local authorities, that these pumping stations for water as well as for sewerage should not experience these power cuts because it is a health hazard,” he said.

“So, we hope that ZESA has been directed to ensure that power outages for pumping of water and for pumping of sewerage waste water treatment should not be taking place.”

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