BY PATRICIA SIBANDA
Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing scheme residents of ward eight in Gwanda have embarked on a project to install sewage pipes at their houses after their municipality failed to do so for 14 years since the housing project started.
Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai ward eight councillor Ntuthuko Ndebele told the Southern Eye that the advent of the COVID-19 virus had, however, stalled progress of their project.
Ndebele said the first phase of the project had been completed, but the second phase had been slowed down by the pandemic.
“The other half of the job is done and we are left with putting up pipes in some of the parts. However, COVID-19 has been a challenge as it has slowed down our progress in trying to purchase pipes from Bulawayo to finish up the piping,” Ndebele said.
“The other part has water and the sewer has been laid out, but the other part is a very hard surface that needs an excavator, which is also another hurdle that we are facing. On the excavator, we were charged US$80 per hour. Overall, we need about US$10 000 to finish phase two of the project,” he said.
Ndebele said well-wishers would be welcome to help finance the completion of the project.
“We need all the assistance we can get and if they are any well-wishers they are welcome because it has been several years since this project started,” he said, Gwanda mayor Njabulo Siziba said:
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“The Garikai project is very old and the sewer should have been done long back. Negotiations were done between the council and residents and it was decided that once they finish up the project, they should keep all the receipts and names of those who contributed towards it. Council will then spare them from paying water bills for the total amount they spent on the project. If the money is equivalent to three or four months of rate paying, then those that contributed will be exempted for that period,” he said.
Indications were that the Gwanda City Council have only managed to dig trenches for the area, which silted due to heavy rains in the past years.
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