AfDB commits $16 million to urban sanitation

By The NewsDay | Oct. 5, 2015 | 2 Min read

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has fast-tracked a grant of $16 million to help clean up some of Zimbabwe’s suburbs.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

The first stage of the project will concentrate on removing the raw sewage currently clogging residential areas and securing the water supply for the most vulnerable areas of Greater Harare which is home to two million people, AfDB said in a statement.

In addition to Harare, the towns of Chitungwiza, Ruwa, Redcliff and other towns throughout Zimbabwe will see their water and sanitation facilities rehabilitated as part of the project.

It is estimated that 20% of the population in the beneficiary areas is exposed to raw sewage and many communities rely on water drawn from contaminated sources. The AfDB project will rehabilitate nine pumping stations and four sewage treatment plants, replace 28km of broken sewer pipes and repair a decrepit water supply distribution network.

The assistance from AfDB comes as the government plans to restore the economy to its pre-crisis levels and recognises the urgent need for investment in water and sanitation in order to avoid a repetition of the 2008 to 2009 cholera epidemic which claimed 4 300 lives.

AfDB said financial resources are to be channelled through Zim-Fund, a multi-donor trust fund and collaborative effort between members of the donor community and Zimbabwean government. Zim-Fund is supported by United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark and Australia, and administered by a dedicated AfDB special management unit.

AfDB director of water and sanitation Mohamed El Azizi said the previous Zim-Fund project supported the restoration and stabilisation of water supply and sewerage services for an estimated population of 2,5 million.