Published by the government of Zimbabwe
16 August 2007
Harare — THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority has suspended two senior managers responsible for water management in Harare because of rampant water shortages and frequent machinery breakdowns.
The suspension came at a time the city's water problems worsened over the just ended Heroes and Defence Forces holidays.
Zinwa has failed to adequately share the available water among all suburbs and to also communicate to consumers the water situation.
The suspended managers, Engineer Hosiah Chisango, responsible for distribution, and Engineer Smart Senderayi, responsible for maintenance and installations, are expected to appear before a disciplinary hearing on August 23.
The two were suspended by acting Harare Water general manager Mr Lisben Chipfunde last Friday.
Long queues filled with women carrying buckets were the order of the day in the majority of the western and southern suburbs over the long weekend.
Residents of Chitungwiza and Ruwa were also affected.
By yesterday the situation had not improved with residents inundating The Herald newsroom with distress calls over the continuing shortages.
Allegations against Eng Chisango are that he failed to complete in time tender documents for the purchase of pipes to be used in the city's pipe replacement project.
He is also accused of failing to repair a burst pipe at Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant and to institute a water demand management schedule that would have seen residents in all suburbs accessing water for given hours each day.
Eng Senderayi is being accused of failing to maintain the city's water infrastructure in a sound condition taking into consideration the high number of breakdowns.
Mr Chipfunde refused to talk to The Herald, referring all questions to Zinwa chief executive officer Eng Albert Muyambo.
"Please talk to (Eng) Muyambo. If you want anything, talk to him," he said.
But according to the city's daily status report of August 7, the water shortages in Harare were a result of what is termed a "lake turn" at Lake Chivero.
A lake turn happens when water at the top gets colder than that at the bottom, resulting in water from the bottom going to the top.
When this happens the water would be too dirty, making it very expensive to treat, hence there is temporary stoppage in water purification and production.
"Water supplies to the city are still erratic due to the lake turn and the unavailability of pump number six from Morton Jaffray, and this has greatly affected the north-eastern and western suburbs of the city," read the report.
Yesterday's status report indicated that water shortages in the western suburbs were a result of low levels in the city's reservoirs at Lochinvar and Marimba.
However, Zinwa sources said the problems at the water authority were largely to do with personality clashes and failure by former Harare City Council workers and those originally with Zinwa to fully integrate.
The sources added that it seemed some of the replacement machinery being purchased was either of the wrong type or inferior quality as it broke soon after installation, costing Zinwa billions of dollars in replacement costs.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
