BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
Victoria Falls City Council mayor Somvelo Dlamini says the local authority inherited obsolete water reticulation infrastructure from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), which is causing serious disruptions to supplies.
Dlamini spoke on Friday as the resort city endured week-long water cuts after one of the pumps at the treatment plant malfunctioned.
This forced some residents to fetch water from the Zambezi River while hotels warned of a crisis if supplies are not restored as their reserves were running low.
The mayor said they inherited obsolete water reticulation infrastructure from Zinwa, which he blamed for the frequent cuts.
“They left us with obsolete suction pumps and the pumps could no longer draw water,” Dlamini told VicFallsLive.
“Most of this equipment is corroded while some of it had become dysfunctional.
“So we decided to embark on extensive repairs.
“We had to also purchase some new ones as well in preparation of our summer season.”
He said water supplies would be restored on Saturday.
“We hope that by end of day tomorrow (Saturday) water supplies will return back to normally,” Dlamini said. “Our technicians are at the site.”
Anald Musonza, chairperson of Hotels Association of Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland North chapter, said hotels in Victoria Falls could run out of water anytime if supplies were not resumed soon.
“It could be a nightmare for us soon if it goes further,” Musonza said.
“For now we are surviving on our reservoirs, but my concern is more on those that have no bigger reservoirs.
“It could be already hectic for them if this challenge persists.”
Zinwa recently increased its charges to $ 4.5 million per month from $1.1 million after the local authority took water supplies two months ago.
Council officials say the charges are too high as the local authority has other pumping costs like electricity.