ZIMBABWE’S local authorities need a combined $2,338 billion investment in water supply and solid waste management in the next five years, Local Government Investment Conference (Logic) chairperson George Makunde has said.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
Makunde, who is also Chitungwiza town clerk, said service delivery was in a sorry state for most local authorities.
“Well-planned cities naturally attract investment. It is imperative to link the ease of doing business with new spatial planning paradigms for sustainable development. The challenges facing various urban centres are intense in some and mild in others owing to the scale and size of the local authority,” he said during his presentation on Tuesday.
“We need a total of $2 338 828 964 in order for waste water and solid waste to come to levels that are acceptable. The local authorities are thirsty of an investment promotion strategy that gives a plan for attracting both domestic and FDI [foreign direct investment].”
The capital, Harare, continued to attract rural migrants, yet its population was expanding without services matching that growth, compromising the quality.
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The city has suffered from two major cholera outbreaks in a decade, with disastrous consequences for the country.
The 2008 outbreak killed 4 500 people, with nearly 100 000 needing treatment, while cholera has killed 54 people this year.