The Sunday Mail
Rumbidzai Muparutsa
Zimbabwe’s rural borehole and deep-well water is relatively safe for human consumption, although about 50 percent of the water facilities in the countryside are non-functional, a senior Government official has said.
According to a latest report on the status of water and sanitation in the country, out of the 37 904 boreholes and deep wells countrywide, only 20 715 are functional.
However, Government says rural areas remain trusted areas in terms of safe water.
The position comes as major cities and towns are battling to provide residents with clean water, a situation blamed for the latest cholera outbreak in Harare.
Health officials say the latest disease outbreak has since been contained after claiming over 40 lives.
According to a September 2018 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Status Report, Government has moved in to rehabilitate boreholes countrywide.
The initiative has resulted in some of the water facilities being motorised.
Ministry of Health and Child Care Environmental Health acting director, Mr Victor Nyamandi said Government is prioritising distribution of clean water countrywide, adding that rural water remains safe for consumption.
“Boreholes in rural areas are very safe unless there is a case of point contamination like what happened in Glen View. Boreholes and deep wells remain the only sustainable clean sources of water available in the rural areas.
“We need to move out of the MDG era to the SDGs, we need to bring water to where the people are and we are trying to convert a number of hand-pumped boreholes in the rural area so that the boreholes are motorised.”
According to the WASH report, the most affected areas include Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces, with more than half non-functional water facilities.
“Matabeleland North has 4 831 water points with 2790 functional; while Matabeleland South with 5 399, only has 3 057 functional ones,” reads part of the report.
“In Midlands, about 5 064 points provide clean water, while 2 924 need rehabilitation. In Mashonaland West, only 2 155 boreholes and deep wells are functional out of 4 298.”
The report further shows that Mashonaland East has 6 198 water points, with only 3 160 functional ones. In Masvingo, only 3 409 boreholes and deep wells are functional out of a total of 6 077.
Information shows that Government and international development partners have since 2016 repaired and rehabilitated over 8 089 boreholes and procured at least six drilling rigs.
WASH National Coordination Unit information officer Mr Lovemore Dhoba told The Sunday Mail that, “Government is now moving towards equipping communities with information on the importance of safeguarding water, sanitation and hygiene issues.
“This has seen us recording some districts that are free from open defecation.”
