The ManicaPost
Lovemore Kadzura
Rusape Correspondent
RUSAPE Town Council was this morning forced to halt pumping and treating water at its major station, JackNeedham after the electricity infrastructure was damaged by thieves who were trying to steal cables and the transformer.
The thieves were disrupted after they had already cut down an electricity pole which resulted in a power cut.
Alert municipal cops swiftly moved in and thwarted the theft.
The thieves vanished into the thick bushes.
JackNeedham produce 6,3 megalitres of water per day, supplying about 60 percent of the town’s water needs.
To further compound the residents’ dilemma, yesterday Rusape experienced an 18-hour load shedding which affected the two stations.
Besides the recent setback, for the past three months the local authority has been struggling to evenly supply the precious liquid as residents in areas such as Magamba Extension and Ward One go for weeks with dry taps.
Council electricians and ZESA technicians are on the ground, working to restore normalcy.
Council chairman, Mr Blessmore Pambureni said pumping will resume as soon as power is restored.
“Our electricity infrastructure at the water works was damaged today around 2:30am by thieves who were targeting cables and the transformer. All activities at the pumping and treatment station have been stopped and our technicians are working round the clock to rectify the situation.
“Out of 11 wards, we are only able to supply wards two, three and four because they get water from Town Water works. We hope by end of day we will resume pumping,” he said.
