The Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) has vehemently opposed the Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC) plan to partner with a Dutch company to establish a private water and sanitation utility.
In a statement, the residents argued that this decision undermines the rights of residents and stakeholders, who they believe are the rightful owners of the city.
The association highlighted the urgency of addressing Bulawayo’s severe water crisis, which poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of its residents and could lead to a health disaster similar to the one experienced in Luveve in 2020.
However, the association expressed concerns about the council’s approach, which they claim disregards the voices of the community and violates national policies advocating for local development and community consultation.
“Residents and stakeholders of the City of Bulawayo, who are the rightful owners of the City of Bulawayo, would like to denounce the local authority’s stance to establish a private water and sanitation utility that will manage the city’s water and sanitation services in partnership with a Dutch Company.
“Furthermore, we are aware of the city’s dire water crisis and its magnitude and the need to take relevant steps to alleviate the situation whose ripple effects not only threaten the livelihoods of the residents of Bulawayo but also puts the city at the risk of a health disaster as we saw in 2020 in Luveve.
“The growing culture within the local authority that seems to undermine not only the value of the residents and stakeholders in the city but also undermines the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the NDS1, the Devolution and Decentralisation policies which explicitly emphasize on the need to communities at the heart of any development through consultations,” reads the statement.
The BPRA raised alarms about the potential privatization of water services, arguing that it “infringes with Section 77 of the Zimbabwean Constitution that provides that every person has the right to clean, safe and potable water. This is a clear elitist approach which will disproportionately affect low-income households already struggling with the rising cost of living.”
The residents also raised concerns regarding the potential retrenchment of city council employees involved in water services, as this could lead to significant costs being passed on to the residents.
The residents reiterated to BCC that they “will not hesitate to take whatever action necessary to stop this impish behavior which undermines the value of the residents and stakeholders of the city of Bulawayo who are the rightful owners of the City of Bulawayo.
“Furthermore, we would like to restate that this move, made without adequate consultation with the citizens of Bulawayo, is elitist and does not address the main challenge which we are faced with in terms of water supply.
“Such a significant change in the management of our city’s water and sanitation services should have been subject to thorough public debate and scrutiny,” they added.
Efforts to reach Bulawayo Mayor, David Coltart, for comment on the matter were unsuccessful as his phone was unreachable.
