Back to Index

Minister Biti avails US$140m for Harare city supplies
Movement for Democratic Change
May 30, 2013

The Finance Ministry has secured US$140 million, which it has given to the Harare City Council to replace the city’s water filters and pipes, Minister Tendai Biti has said.

Minister Biti made the announcement this week while presenting his monthly Treasury Statement of the Economy Report for April.

“The funds will go a long way in improving the water supplies for Harare and the satellite towns, Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Norton which rely on water supplies from the Harare City Council”.

“The contract of this package has been finalised and a letter of acceptance was issued on 18 April 2013. The contractual commencement date for the package has been set for 2 May 2013,” Minister Biti said on Tuesday.

Work on replacing the water pipes and the filters is expected to start early June.

Minister Biti said the Harare City Council was losing at least 40 percent of its treated water through leakages and illegal connections and theft.

“Places like Mabvuku and Greendale, which had become deserts will soon have reliable water supplies,” Minister Biti announced.

Meanwhile, Treasury has also made available US$15, 5m for the completion of the Tokwe Mukosi Dam in Masvingo.

“Cumulative disbursements to the water and sanitation sector amount to US$17, 5 million, with the bulk of the resources going towards the payment of outstanding certificates for Tokwe Mukosi Dam (US$15, 5 million),” said Minister Biti.

He said major activities being carried out include rock fill of the dam wall and concrete lining of the spillway and outlet channels.

“The river has been closed and the rock fill on the right bank is now at 46 meters above ground level, while the one for the left bank is now 20 metres above original ground level".

Minister Biti said the relocation of affected families had to be prioritised through compensation and provision of basic social amenities such as health and education facilities.

The disbursements made by Minister Biti are clearly in line with the MDC’s recently launched Agenda for Real Transformation (ART), which confirms that every society should have sufficient, clean, accessible and affordable water.

The MDC’s mission is to implement collaborative, innovative water policy to ensure long-term sustainability, economic vitality and quality life in Zimbabwe at all times.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP