Beitbridge, like other urban areas countrywide, is experiencing erratic water supplies due to poor infrastru- cture and financial constraints.
“The town has only 20 boreholes to service more than 50 000 residents. The town water system was initially designed to meet requirements of less than 25 000 residents and the population growth has resulted in the straining of available water resources,” said Mandebvu, in an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean.
“With the contracting of a private company to rehabilitate the water purification plant, we expect water woes in the town to be eased by end of this year,” he said. Given the ever increasing human traffic passing through the border town, the busiest in Zimbabwe, Council water facilities are currently meeting a mere 40 % of demand.
“People from as far as Harare prefer buying properties for business purposes here. Many businesspeople are turning family houses into lodges for travellers coming or going to South Africa,” said Mandebvu.
He expressed concern at rising crime levels in the border town, mainly blaming the trend on undocumented travellers and common criminals roaming streets.
“Recently, we held a criminal consultative meeting with the Police to strategise on how best we could combat crime. Armed thieves and robbers are so daring that they are breaking into houses demanding cash and households. We expect some measurable decline in the crime rate following the meeting,” he added.
Post published in: News