by Lloyd Sesemani
Penhalonga community in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province has been hit with severe water rationing for a month now leaving residents deprived of the precious liquid. The water rationing is severe such that residents are receiving water for two days in a week. This has never happened in the history of Penhalonga where there is a perennial water source from the Pungwe catchment area.
The Mutasa Rural District Council (RDC), however blamed the crisis on the water cuts being enforced by the City of Mutare. Mutasa RDC buys processed water from the City of Mutare and later sell it to their residents. Information gathered from Mutare City Council is that there are facing financial challenges in treating their water and this has resulted in them rationing all the water supplies.
Janet Moyo from Penhalonga Residents Ratepayers Trust said, “Some women and children are resorting to fetch water from unsafe water bodies which poses a health risk to consumers. Some of the water bodies are contaminated through illegal mining happening within the area.”
It is high time that Mutasa RDC realizes that water is life and has to be availed at all times. Service delivery in form of safe drinking water is a necessity particularly in this modern way of living where people make use of in-house ablution facilities. Residents are appealing to Mutasa RDC to avail water bowsers and to drill boreholes within the affected locations as a supplementary measure to provide adequate water supply.
