The Zimbabwe National Water Authority has disconnected supplies of the precious liquid to the satellite town in response to Kwekwe’s failure to settle its $900,000 debt for water from nearby Sebakwe dam. The cut has affected more than 50,000 Redcliff residents whose taps are connected to the Zisco line.
The town has no community boreholes and residents are struggling to access the water they need to flush their toilets, bath, cook, drink and clean. TheMayor, Fred Kapuya, told The Zimbabwean this week that his council is unable to push for the re-connection of water supplies as the contractual agreement is between Kwekwe City and Zinwa.
Kwekwe mayor Matenda Madzoke blamed Zisco for failure to own up to its debt. “Zisco owes us about $10 million. If they paid us that money or half of it, we would be able to solve the water crisis,” he said.
Madzoke added that his council was hopeful that local government minister Ignatius Chombo would respond to appeals to help out and see reconnections being made.
In 2011, government sold 54 percent shareholding of Zisco to Essar, a Mauritius-registered subsidiary of India’s steel manufacturing giant Essar Global in a $750 million deal that raised hopes for the blossoming of Redcliff. However the deal has failed to take off due to political interference, resulting in continued suffering of workers and the community.
At its peak, Zisco produced more than one million tonnes of steel per annum and employed up to 4,000 workers.
Post published in: Business