Harare Metropolitan province is set to get more boreholes in residential areas thanks to the efforts by a team of prominent city dwellers dubbed, “Team Build Harare,” which is outsourcing resources to mitigate the worsening water challenges the city is grappling with, 263Chat has learnt.
Addressing the press this afternoon, Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Provincial Affairs, Oliver Chidawu said the team has crafted a program that will prioritize access to clean water.
“The sub committees of Team Build Harare have met in my absence and they have crafted a program which they term ‘quick wins’. Some of those quick wins are are answers to how we can alleviate the situation that is facing us regarding water. People are suffering, people have no access to water, and we have a big challenge,”
“They are trying to mobilize resources so that we have teams on the ground to identify areas we can drill boreholes throughout the whole province, so they are now busy trying to get either corporates to donate or from institutions that have capability so that we avoid disaster. If we are not careful we may lose our people because we haven’t prepared. We all know the problems that we have of potable water which we don’t have. We will update you on developments,” said Chidawu.
Harare province has been hit by serious water shortages with areas such as Chitungwiza having gone for close to four weeks without running water.
Some areas such as Damofalls and Zimre Park do not have water connections and residents have to rely on boreholes which in most cases are of substandard nature.
This has triggered fears of yet another potential health catastrophe in the form of cholera and typhoid outbreaks.
The situation has also been compounded by plummeting water levels at major water bodies supplying water to the province.
Team Build Harare, is an advisory board voluntarily assisting with ideas to tackle some of the major challenges bedeviling the province and has pledged to assist in resource mobilization to finance key infrastructural projects.
The team consists of prominent figures such as Mr Vulindlela Ndlovu, who is the current director of CIMAS, Professor W. Sadomba, prominent lawyer Mr Simplisio Chihambakwe, Mr T. Zinyama from the Harare Residents Association and Mr T. Maswiswi from Zimplats among others.
