Minister
of
Justice,
Legal,
and
Parliamentary
Affairs,
Ziyambi
Ziyambi,
who
also
serves
as
the
leader
of
government
business
in
Parliament,
revealed
this
stance
on
Wednesday
while
responding
to
questions
from
legislators.
Unlike
other
cities,
Bulawayo
has
faced
a
severe
raw
water
shortage
for
decades,
a
situation
that
residents
and
local
leaders
say
requires
immediate
attention.
The
Bulawayo
City
Council
(BCC)
reported
that
the
city’s
supply
dams
are
down
to
just
29%
capacity,
intensifying
calls
for
government
intervention
and
external
funding
to
address
the
crisis.
However,
Ziyambi
dismissed
these
concerns,
stating
that
the
government
does
not
believe
the
situation
warrants
a
national
disaster
declaration.
He
accused
Bulawayo’s
city
officials
of
mismanagement,
which
he
said
has
worsened
the
crisis.
“We
have
refrained
from
declaring
a
disaster
where
we
feel
there
is
mismanagement
by
our
local
authorities.
The
majority
of
our
local
authorities,
including
Harare,
even
have
their
billing
systems
in
shambles,”
Ziyambi
said.
“If
there
are
local
authorities
that
should
not
be
broke,
they
are
Harare
and
Bulawayo,
but
for
the
past
20
or
so
years,
they
have
failed
in
their
roles
as
city
leaders.”
Ziyambi
added
that
before
the
government
could
consider
declaring
a
disaster,
it
needed
to
address
the
administrative
failures
of
the
council.
“We
are
now
working
to
upgrade
the
systems
because
they
have
failed.
When
we
feel
that
we
need
help
after
dealing
with
our
local
authorities,
then
we
can
act,
but
for
now,
we
do
not
believe
there
is
an
issue
that
requires
a
national
disaster
declaration,”
he
added.
Ziyambi’s
response
came
after
Bulawayo
MP
Dr
Thokozani
Khupe
questioned
why
the
government
had
not
declared
the
city
a
water
shortage
area
to
allow
stakeholders
to
mobilize
resources.
She
stressed
that
such
a
declaration
could
help
Bulawayo
access
external
funding
and
bring
a
permanent
resolution
to
the
crisis,
noting
that
many
residents
had
gone
weeks
without
water,
forcing
them
to
rely
on
unsafe
sources
and
raising
the
risk
of
waterborne
diseases
like
cholera
and
diarrhoea.
Dr
Khupe
pointed
out
that
the
government
has
been
rehabilitating
boreholes
in
the
Nyamandlovu
aquifer,
a
critical
water
source
for
Bulawayo,
but
that
the
water
output
has
fallen
dramatically,
exacerbating
the
city’s
water
woes.
“My
question
is
motivated
by
the
fact
that
since
2023,
the
government
has
been
rehabilitating
part
of
the
22
broken
boreholes
in
the
Nyamandlovu
aquifer
as
a
way
of
restoring
the
volume
of
pumped
water
to
Bulawayo
to
16
megalitres
per
day
amid
the
prevailing
water
shortages,”
said
Dr
Khupe.
“The
aquifer
water
has
dropped
to
about
five
megalitres
per
day,
against
a
potential
of
26.”
In
response,
Ziyambi
claimed
the
government
was
committed
to
solving
Bulawayo’s
water
problems
and
acknowledged
the
importance
of
the
Gwayi-Shangani
project.
“Once
that
is
complete,
we
will
solve
the
problem
of
water,”
he
stated.
The
minister
also
disputed
Bulawayo
Mayor
David
Coltart’s
assertions
that
the
city
has
a
shortage
of
raw
water,
saying
the
immediate
shortages
are
due
to
outdated
infrastructure
rather
than
insufficient
water
resources.
“What
we
have
realised
is
that
the
current
water
shortages
in
Bulawayo
are
not
due
to
insufficient
raw
water,
but
because
the
water
reticulation
system
is
outdated,”
Ziyambi
said.
“We
have
agreed
that
instead
of
scattering
projects
across
the
country,
we
will
focus
on
one
area
and
refurbish
it
completely
before
moving
on
to
the
next.”
Ziyambi
also
announced
that
Bulawayo
would
be
the
first
city
to
benefit
from
a
planned
overhaul
of
the
country’s
water
reticulation
systems,
though
he
did
not
provide
a
timeline.
“We
are
going
to
start
with
Bulawayo
because
we
need
to
replace
all
the
pipes
and
redo
the
water
reticulation
system
to
ensure
continuous
water
delivery.
This
is
not
a
project
that
will
be
completed
overnight,
but
we
have
committed
to
starting
with
Bulawayo,
even
before
the
completion
of
the
Gwayi-Shangani
project,”
Ziyambi
stated.
Meanwhile,
Dr
Khupe
urged
the
government
to
accelerate
its
efforts,
calling
on
ministers
to
push
the
Ministry
of
Finance
to
adequately
fund
the
Gwayi-Shangani
project,
which
has
been
in
development
for
years
and
is
seen
as
key
to
resolving
Bulawayo’s
water
crisis.
“I
would
urge
you
ministers
to
push
the
Minister
of
Finance
to
adequately
fund
the
Gwayi-Shangani
project
because
once
that
happens,
Bulawayo’s
problems
will
be
a
thing
of
the
past.
There
will
be
a
green
belt,
allowing
communities
to
grow
crops,
and
poverty
and
hunger
will
be
a
thing
of
the
past,”
she
said.
Despite
these
discussions,
residents
remain
frustrated,
accusing
the
government
of
politicizing
essential
services
and
ignoring
the
city’s
urgent
needs.
They
argue
that
the
failure
to
declare
Bulawayo
a
water
disaster
area
is
an
indirect
form
of
sabotage,
preventing
the
city
from
accessing
the
external
resources
it
desperately
needs
to
resolve
the
crisis.