In an urgent plea, Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart has called for the city to be declared a water shortage area, citing a critical shortage of raw water.
In an interview the mayor said unlike other cities such as Gweru and Harare, which face challenges in delivering water from their full reservoirs, Bulawayo struggles with a lack of raw water sources.
Mayor Coltart emphasized, “We have a shortage of raw water. If you look at Gweru, if you look at Harare, for example, Chivero and Darwendale are full. They’ve got plenty of raw water. Their problem is in the delivery of that water. In our case, however, we don’t have raw water.”
He highlighted the severe limitations in Bulawayo’s water supply, pointing out the low levels in local reservoirs. “As you’ve seen from Mzingwane, as you will see from Lower and Upper Ncema, and even in Inyankuni, Inyankuni is sitting at 22%. We don’t have the raw water. Our raw water lies in Insiza and Mtshabezi. There is some water in Insiza, 43%. In Mtshabezi, 53%.”
The mayor explained that the existing pipelines are inadequate to deliver water quickly enough from these sources, exacerbating the water crisis. “We cannot deliver the water quickly enough from those water sources because of the deficiencies in the pipelines. And that is why we need that water shortage declaration, and it is why we desperately need it,” Coltart stated.
This declaration is crucial for mobilizing resources and implementing measures to address the water scarcity affecting the city.
