News / National
BCC investigates United Refineries water cuts
15 Nov 2020 at 06:17hrs | Views
THE Bulawayo City Council has ordered an investigation into circumstances that led to one of the city's largest companies, United Refineries Limited (URL) suspending operations due to water challenges.
This comes as the local authority has accused the agro-processing firm of not being sincere as they had previously been given the greenlight to use water from fire hydrants located at the gates of the company at a fixed charge. A fire hydrant is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection.
It is connected direct into the water supply system and is not affected by water cuts.
In a written response on the matter, Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni revealed that they had since instructed their standing committee on engineering services to investigate the veracity of the claims by URL noting that the Press statement by the company was in "bad taste".
"Council at its ordinary siting on 4 November 2020; was concerned with the taste of a Press release by management of URL to the effect that they were closing the factory due to water challenges and that they had not received assistance from the city authorities. The standing committee on engineering services was of the view that the company was not being sincere as it had been allowed to access water from fire hydrants that are by the gates of its premises. This is where council bowsers get water to supply surrounding suburbs," said Clr Mguni.
The Mayor further noted that the challenges that were cited by URL were not unique to the company as most of Kelvin Industrial area had pressure challenges but still there were companies that used more water than URL like Delta Beverages.
"Councillors put the standing committee on engineering services to task to explain why such a big company could be allowed to close and not be assisted in view of current policy of exempting the Central Business District, mines, industry and commerce.
"Council then tasked the Alderman Siboniso Khumalo chaired committee to investigate the veracity of the company's claims with a view of rendering assistance.
"Council felt that the Press release was offending and was not in the spirit of stakeholder cooperation in this water crisis and could potentially scare away investors. As it is; the committee will report its findings to next council," said Clr Mguni.
After its near closure, the company later released a statement saying that its company engineers were working together with the BCC water department to ensure water supply to the Kelvin Industrial area was restored promptly. On Friday it announced that operations were back at full swing.
"We are happy to announce that our factory resumed operations on Monday the 9th of November after the water supply issue was rectified. We would like to thank Bulawayo City Council for their continued assistance."
Bulawayo is experiencing the worst water crisis in its modern history blamed largely on the BCC's failure to expand its pumping capacity in tandem with the growing population.
This comes as the local authority has accused the agro-processing firm of not being sincere as they had previously been given the greenlight to use water from fire hydrants located at the gates of the company at a fixed charge. A fire hydrant is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection.
It is connected direct into the water supply system and is not affected by water cuts.
In a written response on the matter, Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Solomon Mguni revealed that they had since instructed their standing committee on engineering services to investigate the veracity of the claims by URL noting that the Press statement by the company was in "bad taste".
"Council at its ordinary siting on 4 November 2020; was concerned with the taste of a Press release by management of URL to the effect that they were closing the factory due to water challenges and that they had not received assistance from the city authorities. The standing committee on engineering services was of the view that the company was not being sincere as it had been allowed to access water from fire hydrants that are by the gates of its premises. This is where council bowsers get water to supply surrounding suburbs," said Clr Mguni.
The Mayor further noted that the challenges that were cited by URL were not unique to the company as most of Kelvin Industrial area had pressure challenges but still there were companies that used more water than URL like Delta Beverages.
"Council then tasked the Alderman Siboniso Khumalo chaired committee to investigate the veracity of the company's claims with a view of rendering assistance.
"Council felt that the Press release was offending and was not in the spirit of stakeholder cooperation in this water crisis and could potentially scare away investors. As it is; the committee will report its findings to next council," said Clr Mguni.
After its near closure, the company later released a statement saying that its company engineers were working together with the BCC water department to ensure water supply to the Kelvin Industrial area was restored promptly. On Friday it announced that operations were back at full swing.
"We are happy to announce that our factory resumed operations on Monday the 9th of November after the water supply issue was rectified. We would like to thank Bulawayo City Council for their continued assistance."
Bulawayo is experiencing the worst water crisis in its modern history blamed largely on the BCC's failure to expand its pumping capacity in tandem with the growing population.
Source - sundaynews
