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The
city of "passport size" ablutions
Ephraim Nsingo, Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)
July 31, 2007
http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=38749
The City Council of Bulawayo,
Zimbabwe's second largest city, has issued a warning to residents
of a possible outbreak of disease following a massive cut in the
city's water supply. This is the first time in Bulawayo's
history such a health warning has been issued.
"Water will be available
for seven hours in every two days and during that time people are
advised to fill their containers and cover them up. The City Council
is aware that water cuts may result in the outbreak of diseases,
and we wish to advise members of the public to take preventive measures,"
said council spokesperson Phathisa Nyathi recently.
The water shortage has
been ascribed to drought, a burgeoning population and the lack of
co-operation between the City Council and the Zimbabwe National
Water Authority (ZINWA) -- a parastatal.
Bulawayo is the capital
city of Matabeleland, a southern region that has for decades been
prone to droughts. When the last of its five dams was completed
in 1979, the city had a population of around 250,000 and the City
Council could manage the needs of residents and factories.
However, those same five
dams are unable to cope with the requirements of the 1.5 million
people who now live in Bulawayo. And, while authorities have in
recent months introduced strict water-rationing measures, these
have failed to stop the water crisis from becoming the worst in
the city's history.
Earlier this month, the
council was forced to decommission the Lower Ncema dam because it
ran dry. Two other dams, the Upper Ncema and the Umzingwane, had
already been decommissioned for the same reason.
Officials have warned
that Inyankuni will be also decommissioned soon, as it is only about
a tenth full. This would leave the Insiza dam as the last water
reservoir for the city.
Insiza is Bulawayo's
largest dam, with a capacity of just over 173 million cubic metres.
Currently, it is standing at slightly above 88 million cubic metres;
according to Nyathi, this means that "Collectively, the city's
supply dams are only 24 percent full, which is worrisome."
Bulawayo needs about
120,000 cubic metres of water per day, but at the time of writing
had the capacity to pump only 69,000 cubic metres. This figure is
expected to drop to 46,000 in October when the Inyankuni dam is
decommissioned.
Eighty boreholes were
sunk during the last major drought in the early 1990s. But, these
fall far short of meeting the residents' requirements, especially
since most of them are no longer operational.
The water crisis is having
a significant effect on the way most people in Bulawayo go about
their daily lives. The upper and middle classes are coping with
water restrictions reasonably well, but the overwhelming majority
of people living in the vast shanty towns that have swollen the
city's population in recent years are struggling.
Residents of some of
the poorer suburbs now have to walk long distances to the nearest
borehole to draw water, while profiteers exploit their plight by
selling water at exorbitant prices.
For many, bathing has
become a luxury as they reserve the little available water for other
uses. Instead of bathing, they now perform what is known as a "passport
size", wiping the face and other essentials with a damp towel.
"With the way things
are going, it is very unlikely we will get any supplies (of water),"
said Memory Ndlovu of Emakhandeni suburb. "We now have to walk
all the way to Old Luveve where there is a borehole, but even the
borehole sometimes runs dry, as it serves people from (several other
suburbs). Something has to be done urgently otherwise a disaster
is looming here."
People in Emakhandeni
say water cuts have exceeded the time periods indicated by the City
Council. "They told us the water shedding would be for many
hours, but now it's turning out to be many days," noted another
resident, Thabiso Ncube.
The current crisis could
exert pressure on the Bulawayo City Council to allow ZINWA to take
over the city's water and sewerage system. From the beginning of
the year, there has been fierce resistance to this proposed takeover,
with both politicians and residents arguing that water management
should remain in the hands of council.
ZINWA has already taken
over Harare's water management system and has not proved to
be very effective in the country's capital.
If ZINWA were to assume
control of Bulawayo's water, however, it might open the way
for the city to tap the idle Mtshabezi dam or the Nyamandlovu Aquifer
-- two reservoirs are under ZINWA management.
A 33-kilometre long pipeline
between the Mtshabezi dam and Bulawayo's existing Ncema system
appears to be the most viable short-term solution. But even that
option would take several months to implement.
The obvious long-term
solutions to the water shortage would include the construction of
new, larger dams and the laying of a water pipeline from the Zambezi
River to Bulawayo. These solutions would, however, require a considerable
investment -- unimaginable in the country's present situation.
Zimbabwe is battling
economic difficulties that have seen inflation climb to four digits,
widespread job losses and shortages of essential goods such as fuel.
This is taking place in the midst of a political crisis characterised
by clampdowns on opposition members, rights activists and the media
by the government of President Robert Mugabe.
* This feature
is the second in a two-part series on water shortages in Zimbabwe.
The first item, Water shortages
in capital leave residents desperate, deals with the water situation
in Harare.
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