Thirsty and fed up: Hwange residents protest eight months water shortage

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Hwange’s Empumalanga residents are holding demonstrations today at the Zimbabwe National Water Authority  (ZINWA) offices, protesting their disconnection from water sources since February.

The community, which is home to over 1 000 households, has gone without water for eight months.

According to Irene Shangwa, vice chairman of Phase 4 residents, the community has been resorting to drinking unclean water from ponds near sewer lines, which is also consumed by wild animals.

“For the past eight months, we have been drinking water from underground. We do not even know where that water is coming from, whether it’s sewer water or just dirty water. We just drink it,” Shangwa said.

Some residents have been asking relatives for water, while others are selling water for $1 for four or five buckets.

The residents are requesting that the  ZINWA reconnect them to the water supply, and they’re willing to pay a $10 reconnection fee.

The disconnection was due to a standoff between the Hwange Local Board and the ZINWA over arrears.

Women and children are the most affected, as they’re the ones who fetch water from the ponds, exposing them to other diseases.

Last year they also went for eleven months without water, drinking from the ponds.

This is despite Zimbabwe being a signatory to the UN Human Rights Council, which recognizes the right to safe, clean, and potable water.

The country’s 2013 constitution also obliges the government to ensure that every person has access to safe and clean water.

For this, Shangwa says the demonstrations are to demand immediate action to address the water crisis and ensure that they have access to safe and clean drinking water.

More to follow…