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Town awaits handover of water treatment plant to council

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GWANDA is still eagerly awaiting the handover of the mining town’s water treatment plant to the local authority, a senior official from the local authority has said.

BY RICHARD MUPONDE

GWANDA is still eagerly awaiting the handover of the mining town’s water treatment plant to the local authority, a senior official from the local authority has said.

The mining town and Beitbridge in Matabeleland South province are still supplied water by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa).

There has been a bitter war between the water authority and Gwanda Town Council (GTC) for years, which dispute escalated in 2017 when Zinwa put a prepaid bulk water meter in order to charge the local authority for water supplied.

The water authority was demanding over $10 million debt from GTC, failure of which it had to pay upfront for the supply of bulk water.

The then Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Oppah Muchinguri–Kashiri, had to intervene in June of the same year, sending a commission of inquiry to Gwanda.

The chairperson of the commission, deputy director Water Resources Management in the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate, Engineer Gilbert Mawere, in his briefing to council and stakeholders, said Gwanda had been allowed to take over the water plant.

However, the handover was delayed on political grounds.

In an interview in Gwanda, the town mayor, Jastone Mazhale, said the town fathers had made strides in solving the dual ownership issue that had bedevilled the water treatment plant.

“We have talked the issue over and it was mutually agreed that GTC run the water treatment plant. Everything has been sorted out with our counterparts at Zinwa. We are just waiting for the ministry to officially hand over the plant. We are eagerly waiting for that moment so that we supply our residents with the precious liquid,” Mazhale said.

He also said the town had the capacity to run the water treatment plant as they had the infrastructure to do so.

“Our mega five-litre reservoir is complete and it’s waiting for testing. This is the panacea to all the water problems of the town and its surrounding areas. This will also aid our efforts to make the town achieve its city status,” Mazhale said.

The handover had been touted for early this year, but was postponed after government was reportedly angered by the politisation of the issue.

Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement minister Perrance Shiri had to issue a statement, saying the handover was part of government’s devolution exercise and should not be politicised.

Four municipalities, Gwanda, Beitbridge, Victoria Falls and Karoi are expected to be the devolution of water’s first beneficiaries.