THE Bulawayo City Council’s Future Water Supplies Committee says it wants to meet Water Resources, Development and Management minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo to discuss the possibility of holding a cleansing ceremony at Mtshabezi Dam.
Report by Khanyile Mlotshwa Staff Reporter
The committee’s proposal follows failed attempts to synchronise generators to pump water from the dam to augment the city’s water supplies.
Bulawayo is experiencing one of its worst water shortages in decades with the local authority resorting to a 96-hour weekly water-shedding regime.
The Mtshabezi pipeline project — which has been touted as a panacea to the city’s water woes — has suffered many false starts.
According to the latest council minutes, the committee tasked chamber secretary Sikhangezile Zhou to invite Sipepa Nkomo to address the city fathers on issues stalling the project.
However, Lobengula councillor Phinias Ndlovu stirred debate when he said it was not necessary to invite the minister because “he would not have anything new to say”.
“It’s as if we don’t respect the minister,” he said. “The truth is that no one has a recipe for making water. Can’t we just forget about bothering the minister?
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“What new information will he bring here? Everyone is aware that the generators were bought, but it is hard to connect them.”
Magwegwe councillor Benjamin Ndlovu, who is a member of the committee, later proposed that a traditional cleansing ceremony be conducted at the site to speed up the process.
“The minister should realise that generally we live in two ways — the Christian and the traditional ways,” he said.
“He must know that during the building of that dam there was a lot of misunderstanding.
“We are Christians, but we should also value our traditional African ways.
“We want to sit down with the minister and explain to him that we need to consult traditionalists and cleanse the area.
“Let us not undermine the power of our African traditional beliefs.”
