Zivanai Dhewa

....as MDC-led Council fails to deliver service

The Government of Zimbabwe and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed a US$1.8 million ZimFund grant for the rehabilitation of Chitungwiza sewage system infrastructure following failure by the MDC Alliance-led urban council to meet their mandate of providing safe water and sanitation to the dormitory city.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube hailed the bank for its continued support to the country’s most critical sectors.

“The portfolio supported by the bank is what we need as a country and we hope to continue getting assistance in these areas including dialogue on the policy-making front,” said Minister Ncube.

Speaking at the same occasion, AfDB Country Manager, Ms Moono Mupotola pledged the bank’s commitment to supporting Zimbabwe.

“We hope this grant will help bring back normalcy to the residents of Chitungwiza and significantly contribute towards the reduction of incidents of waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid,” said Ms Mupotola.

Chitungwiza Municipality, like Harare City Council and most other urban councils, has had to suffer lack of services, such as tap water, uncollected refuse and poor to lack of sewer reticulation infrastructure. This has mainly been due to abuse of office and misappropriation of funds by the MDC Alliance-led Councils.

Meanwhile, ZimFund has been in existence since 2010 after the 2008 cholera outbreak, operating a US$145 million water and sanitation and energy infrastructure programmes.  The ZimFund program is generously supported by the governments and people of Australia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.