WATER CRISIS HITS REDCLIFF ,A TOWN WHICH USED TO PROVIDE THE COFUS OF THE ZANU PF GOVERNMENT

WATER CRISIS HITS REDCLIFF

By Simbarashe Fenton Mushonga

Water crisis has hit Redcliff town such that residents are now resorting to digging up wells as a contigance measure to the unavailability of water as fears of outbreak of diseases are imminent.

 Residents in Redcliff are at the risk of encountering the outbreak of diseases such as typhoid and cholera as the shortage of tape water ceases to end as the city father the Municipality has been failing to provide the much needed and important service after Kwekwe City Council disconnected water from the town again over a debt $2 million.

  “We hardly get tape water here, its almost 2 years since we had water on our tapes this has made us to dig water wells and the most surprising part is that we are still receiving bills with high water charges yet the water is not coming”. Said Mhofu a Simbi Park resident.

   The shortage of water has also been intensified by the burst up of sewerage pipes in Simbi Park and Redcliff, the general belief and perception is that the Municipality seem to be reluctant about the situation at hand which is a critical one as health issues are involved as residents are more vulnerable to the outbreak of diseases from the exposure of raw sewerage.

  “I am even afraid to drink tape water if it happens to come, these pipes are all rusty and there are high chances of contacting diseases as the bursting of sewerage highly contaminate drinking water.” Mhofu said

The municipality has gone ahead in restricting access of water on those who owe the council, with outstanding debts, this comes as people are of the view that they cannot pay for water which is not available.

 Institutions such as schools and clinics have also resorted to the use of borehole water in order to operate toilets and other vital uses despite the fact that high electricity charges incur but due to the situation on the ground it is worth it.

 There have been calls by the concerned residents that the Municipality for the mean time should reach a consensus with Kwekwe City council to be a subsidiary so that services are rendered and in the event that the economic situation improves it will resume its service delivery.

 Plans for the construction of its own water purification plant are not progressing as there is nothing tangible at the designated site and this has made residents not to pay their debts and bills.

 “we cannot pay for water which is not there ,last month I had a current of $18 but I did not see even a droplet coming out of my tape, I will pay the very day the council becomes serious and gives us water”, said a Torwood resident who identified herself as Mai Mawere

 The water reticulation system is compounded by councils failure to devorce itself from the moribund ZiscoSteel whose system they still want to utilize and it is alleged that the Municipality owes Kwekwe city council a lot of money.

 The Municipality is shelling out residential and commercial properties without a corresponding increase in ameties such as  Grasslands,Millenium Park,Engelbert and Infill straining the already absolete infrastructure.

  Efforts to get comments from Ward 9 councilor Mr Chamunorwa Foroma were unfruitful as the phone went unanswered all day long.

 Residents are starting to vie for the coming of pre-paid water as a solution to the problem though expensive at least they will have water at their disposal than to queue for water all day long and being exposed to diseases.

 The municipality has also been trying to provide services but the situation has been worsened by the economic situation facing the country.

The [Zanu PF] government (even in former president Mugabe's era) has sevaral times promised to reopen ZISCOSTEEL in order to revive the town which aided immensly to the country's economy but it is now in a poverty ridden state and now a ghost town where thousands are battling for survival,this has also crippled the provision of vital services incuding water.

 Is the situation goin to be resolved soon? Are the elections going to be the game changer because people have suffered,poverty has normalised itself and will corruption going to take a halt  in REDCLIFF ,Zimbabwe at large? Is the so called new dispensation going to develop and rejuvinate REDCLIFF from its current state?