By Bulawayo Correspondent

THE city of Bulawayo has received a timely boast in its quest to alleviate its perennial water woes after Dutch company Vitens Evides International (VEI) availed additional funding for the city’s Water WorX Phase 11 programme.

The company has partnered the city since 2020.

Water levels in Bulawayo city supply dams remain low at a time when they should be at their peak.

The city’s six supply dams namely: Umzingwane, Inyankuni, Mtshabezi, Upper Ncema and lower Ncema have received insignificant inflows despite heavy rains which the country received late last year and early this year.

The council’s acting director of engineering services, Sikhumbuzo Ncube recently warned that if the prevailing dry spell continue to persist, council will be forced to reintroduce a tighter water-shedding exercise.

Council’s corporate communications officer Bongiwe Ngwenya said the Water Worx operator Partnership (WOP) project started on January 1, 2022 and will end on December 31, 2026.

“The main objectives of the WOP is to enable the city to sustainably provide water and sanitation services to all customers at an improved level of service. This is expected to be achieved by improving the quality of leadership, human resources productivity and stakeholder relations,” Ngwenya said.

The grant is also expected to fund strategic business planning, harnessing of investment funding, inclusion of disadvantaged groups in key processes, influencing the enabling environment and as well as the protection of water sources.

Ngwenya said VEI and the Bulawayo City Council will be holding a signing ceremony for the project on Monday.

She did not disclose the amount of money involved.