A CABINET minister yesterday said it was now common for drinking water to be mixed with sewage effluent in urban areas, exposing residents to diseases such as cholera.
Report by Nqobile Bhebhe
Water Resourses Development and Management minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo told delegates at a two-day Zimbabwe Water Infrastructure summit at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo that water pollution was getting out of hand.
“The sporadic water supply in urban areas is largely due to old infrastructure not able to satisfy demand,” he said.
“There has also not been systematic investment in new water sources. “There are frequent instances of sewage mixing with potable water. Rampant pollution leads to multiple chemicals at treatment.”
Nkomo said the dilapidated infrastructure led to the cholera outbreak of 2008-2009, which killed more than 4 000 people.
He said “the risk of another (outbreak) remains relatively high”. The minister said the government welcomed the involvement of private sector participation in dam construction and urban water management. Nkomo said 23 such projects worth $2 billion were underway in the country.
Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo told the summit that water projects worth $1 billion were envisaged for the city.
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“The City of Bulawayo currently offers investment opportunities for various projects outlined in the master plan amounting to $1 billion in its water and waste water sectors,” he said.
Moyo said the projects provided “serious investors with tangible investment opportunities”.
The mayor said the water problems facing the city started before independence, adding that the city’s supply dams could only supply 132 000 cubic litres per day which is far less than the required 156 000 cubic litres.
“As a result the city has been operating under suppressed demand management for many years since 1976,” he said.
Bulawayo started rationing water in the 1990s. The summit, organised by MN Capital of South Africa, ends today.
