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Masvingo Correspondent
Newly-elected Masvingo Mayor, Cllr Collins Maboke, has vowed to end crippling water shortages that have been blighting the country’s oldest town over the past two weeks.

Speaking soon after his election as the city’s mayor, Cllr Maboke said finding a permanent solution to the water crisis was top of his priorities.

Masvingo has been battling severe water shortages that were blamed on broken down equipment at the Bushmead Water Works plant on the shores of Lake Mutirikwi.

The water shortage has sparked fears of disease outbreaks, particularly typhoid.

Cllr Maboke said his new team of councillors would be seized with the problem to make sure the situation starts to improve as soon as possible.

“My major concern is that the city has been engulfed in water crisis for the past three weeks with the situation on the ground not improving at all. But now that there is a functional council in place we hope to find a solution to the problem and we will make sure water supplies are back to normal in a matter of days,” he said.

Cllr Maboke pledged to ensure a close working relationship between all the councillors and management to ensure quality service to residents.

“From my own experience, we have a reputation of being the cleanest city in the country and I want us to maintain that reputation so that our city is free of water-borne diseases,” he said.

Cllr Maboke said besides shortage of water, his council will also attend to the problem of poor roads, malfunctional street lights, while finding a lasting solution to the contentious issue of water disconnections.

A prominent local lawyer, Cllr Maboke holds a master’s degree (LLM) in Constitutional and Human Rights Law from the Midlands State University and Honours degree (LLB) in Law from the University of Zimbabwe.

He is a senior partner at Ruvengo, Maboke and Company and is a former secretary-general of Masvingo United Football Club.