The ManicaPost
Correspondent
DANGAMVURA residents continue to experience water woes as the Dangamvura pipeline project is progressing at a snail pace.
Mutare City Council failed to meet its December 2020 deadline to connect water to Dangamvura due to a plethora of challenges which are mainly financially related.
Dangamvura residents have endured water problems for over 15 years and are arguing that this pipeline is long overdue. In some areas, water is cut off for weeks and in some areas its dry taps all the time.
United Mutare Residents and Ratepayers Trust Ward Six chairperson, Ms Tsitsi Mupeti said: “We are unhappy with the pace this project is taking. We have to walk a distance to access water and sometimes at odd hours. Council should be transparent and give us feedback as to why it is taking so long.”
Residents are livid with how the council is handling the project.
Ms Mupeti’s sentiments were echoed by another resident, Mr Mabasa, who said: “The project has been going on for years now. It appears the city fathers do not care about our right to portable water. We heard they hosted a lavish workshop in Masvingo while we suffer acute water shortages. Why can’t they prioritise the pipeline? We are still being charged high water bills despite the erratic supplies. This week council employees were in Dangamvura’s T Section disconnecting water supply for defaulting residents. It is ridiculous that they want us to pay such huge amounts for a service we are not getting,” said Mr Nyirenda, another resident.
“Some people who were born three years before the water project was launched are already married. They have already completed their tertiary education and are still waiting for the completion of the project. The Chikanga and Dangamvura water project commenced in 1996 and is yet to be completed 25 years later,” said Mr Jephias Mundondo, UMRRT board vice chairman.
In December 2020, Mutare City Council dug up the pipes indicating that they were the wrong size and that they had not been properly laid out. They had to import new ones from South Africa. Over the years, the local authority has accessed both local and international loans for the project, but little progress is being witnessed on the ground.
In total, council has obtained four loans in 10 years. This year, the council has applied for borrowing powers to raise more funds for the project. Speaking to UMRRT, Ward Six councillor, Cllr Daniel Saunyama, said: “The major challenge delaying the completion of the project is financial resources. However, council is making frantic efforts to mobilise additional resources to complete the project. Very soon the water challenges will be alleviated.”
Meanwhile, residents are appealing to the council to provide adequate water bowsers to all areas in Dangamvura until the completion of the water project.
