BCC dubs first Monday of every month 'Blue Monday'

THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has dubbed the first Monday of every month "Blue Monday" and called on residents to wear sky blue clothing on the day and participate in fund-raising for the completion of duplication of the Insiza Dam pipeline.
The day would also be used by the city's information dissemination and public education sub-committee, a part of the city's water crisis committee, to step up campaigns to make every resident a part of the water problem solution.
About 80 percent of the city's water is in Insiza Dam, but the pipe used to draw water to the city is too small to meet the city's demands.
Nearly $21 million is needed to lay a parallel pipe to increase water that could be drawn from the dam.
The sub-committee is in the process of selecting influential people who would be goodwill ambassadors for the programme.
During a water crisis meeting in the council chambers on Thursday, the resource mobilisation sub-committee also called for an introduction of a water levy to help raise the $21 million.
Addressing the meeting, the chairperson of the information dissemination and public education sub-committee, Ms Scholastica Madibha said social media like Facebook and Twitter, radio, television and other forms of media would be used to promote the "Blue Monday" concept.
"To increase the impact of the campaign, the committee has recommended influential role models like Miss Bulawayo, Bongani Dlakama, Highlanders Football Club former Highlanders coach and Bantu Rovers director Methembe Ndlovu, Three Kings musical group of Iseq'amabhilidi fame and the Mayor, Councillor Thaba Moyo, to be goodwill ambassadors for water-related issues," said Ms Madibha.
She said more goodwill ambassadors would be selected as her committee held wider consultations with stakeholders, adding that they would take part in outreach campaigns at schools to make interesting and educative presentations on water conservation on "Blue Monday".
Ms Madibha said the logo for the campaign was a water droplet.
She said promotional T-shirts, caps and pins with water conservation messages would be sold to create an understanding and appreciation of the water crisis, while at the same time raising funds to lay the parallel pipeline at Insiza Dam.
"The committee has distributed a total of 73 500 fliers with water conservation messages to date. We shall design stickers for distribution to motorists, placing in bathrooms and use police to distribute them at roadblocks," she said.
Ms Madibha said the Rotaract Club of Belmont had assisted the committee to get free advertising space with Mass Reach and Advermark.
"Mass Reach started flighting an advert on the digital billboard at the corner of 8th Avenue and Fife Street on 15 August. Adverts developed will be sent to Advermark for flighting at Greens, Spar and Lobels among others," she said.
The resource mobilisation sub-committee also suggested ways of disseminating information about the crisis and raising funds for the duplication.
"Introducing a levy specifically to fund the project and have a separate bank account where the monies collected will be deposited and account for it transparently, in the 2013 budget. Seeking donations in a manner similar to those to the Mayor's Christmas Cheer Fund would be some of the useful things to do," said the sub-committee's representative.
They also suggested inviting the private sector to participate, engaging friends of Bulawayo to assist, floating a bond to finance the project and report on the outlook should the projects be stalled by occurrences such as outbreak of diseases like cholera.