Gwanda introduces water rationing

Cash strapped Municipality of Gwanda has introduced a 16 hour per day water cut off to its residents as water rationing exercise.

According to a council statement made via a public notice, water in the town will be cut off daily between 4 pm and 8 am the following day. The rationing was effective from Thursday the 7th of November two days after council had gone out on a massive drive inviting people to settle their water bills.

The Municipality of Gwanda's new council is reported to have recently adopted and pursued a resolution by the previous council to take over the water treatment plant from ZINWA and supply residents with water direct. Council is understood to have complained that they were paying too much for the water from ZINWA and so making Gwanda Town water expensive for the residents. The municipal water charges to residents are reported to have been the most expensive in urban local authorities, even more expensive than Harare and Bulawayo. Early this year the then Minister of Water Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo had to intervene demanding ZINWA to reduce the price of water to Council.

THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) was forced to reduce the price of water to Gwanda Municipality from $1,06 to $0,70 per cubic metre by the Minister in April this year. For a long time, the Gwanda Town Council and Zinwa have been on each other's throats concerning the high tariffs Zinwa was charging for treated water.

Zinwa had been selling treated' water to council at $1,06 per cubic metre while other towns buy raw water from Zinwa, purify it and sell it to consumers at between $0,40 and $0,70 per cubic metre. The Gwanda Town Council had been charging $1,30 for less than 10 cubic metres, $1,40 for between 11 and 20 cubic metres and $1,50 for 21 cubic metres and above. Following the reduction from ZINWA council also reduced its water charges to $0.80 per cubic meter but still residents are not paying.

To reduce operational costs council has therefore opted to introduce the water rationing exercise while it pursues its matter to take over the water treatment plant. The council however continues to ask residents to come forward and settle their water bills especially after all arrears were cancelled at the beginning of July.