RESIDENTS associations have implored Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to increase budgetary allocations towards water projects when he presents his 2025 national budget next month.
The Zimbabwe Union of Residents Associations (ZURRA) said this was necessary in response to the harsh effects of the El Nino-induced drought.
The ZURRA brings together the country’s residents leaders.
The residents leaders met on October 1 and 2 in Bulawayo for an annual summit, whose theme was anchored on climate change and building resilience.
In their recommendations, the residents associations noted the devastating effects of climate change that resulted in the drying up of dams and other water bodies across the country.
“Residents associations under ZURRA affirmed that residents associations collectively lobby government to increase budgetary allocations towards water in the 20205 national budget, taking into account the effects of the El Niño-induced drought and its effects on water,” the recommendations read in part.
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“Residents associations (recommended) to also actively participate in the 2025 budget consultations and make submissions for increased budgetary allocations to water provision.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the El Niño-induced drought a national disaster.
It has left over five million people in urgent need of food aid.
The residents associations said there was need for the adoption of localised plans by local authorities so that the water crises facing Bulawayo, Harare and other areas be declared a national disaster.
“This is meant to help in resource mobilisation towards addressing the current water situation in Bulawayo, Harare and other affected areas countrywide,” the RAs said.
In Bulawayo, the municipality last year petitioned government to declare a water crisis in the city to enable the local authority to mobilise outside support to implement short-to-medium term interventions.
Government, instead, appointed a technical committee to address the water challenges. However, the water crisis has deepened with no solutions in sight.
“Residents associations (recommended) to collectively advocate for the completion of the Matabeleland Zambezi and Kunzvi Dam water projects as a matter of urgency,” the residents associations said.
“The completion of these projects is crucial for climate resilience in helping mitigate drought and water scarcity, enhancing water security, supporting agriculture and industries and promoting renewable energy through hydroelectric power generation.”
The construction of Kunzvi Dam, which is seen as the first Harare water supply reservoir, started in 2021.
Government says the dam will be commissioned in 2026.
The Gwayi-Shangani Dam project to pipe water from the mighty Zambezi River, over 400km away, is seen as a long lasting solution to Bulawayo’s water woes.
It was first mooted in 1912, and over 100 years later now, the project is yet to be completed.