Radio Dialogue Giving you a voice
The scramble for water has heightened in the city for Bulawayo as the 72 hour water shedding program by the city council is pitying hundreds of households in most high density suburbs to a single borehole.
Residents wake up early in the morning to spend the rest of the afternoon queuing for the precious liquid. Although most residents store water in containers for use when the council sheds water, households with large families of up to 12 people exhaust it before supply is restored forcing them to rely on boreholes.
Austin Nkomozana of Nkulumane told Radio Dialogue that hygiene standards in most households have been compromised.
“There is shortage of water for flashing toilets and the fact that people are now forced to buy buckets to store water makes life even more difficult,” he said.
Monica Sibanda of Pumula says the situation can be worse in boreholes as residents trade blows in queues. She accused some people of trying to personalise boreholes thereby creating tension and confusion.
The city council has been forced to decommission two of its supply dams Umzingwane and Upper Ncema as the levels are now too low. City engineer Simela Dube says there were insignificant inflows during the last rainy season. He says instead the dams recorded lower levels after the season that they had before its onset.
A resident speaks on water blues
[podcast]http://www.radiodialogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Ivy….mp3[/podcast]
