Public Fury as Bulawayo Officials Plan SA Trip Despite Water Crisis

A controversy is unfolding at the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) as plans are underway for 25 officials, including both elected councillors and senior administrators, to travel to South Africa.

This trip, intended as a fact-finding mission focused on water utilities, has sparked strong opposition from local residents and some members of the council.

The delegation, scheduled to depart on Friday, is set to include chairpersons of council committees, high-ranking management personnel, a technical team involved in the transition process, consultants, and two representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works. Their destination is Johannesburg Water, where they aim to study its organizational structure and operational methods.

This initiative comes against the backdrop of recent public consultations that revealed significant resistance among Bulawayo residents to the idea of creating a new, independent water utility authority for the city. According to the minutes of a recent meeting of the general purposes committee, the purpose of the South Africa visit is to learn from a water and sanitation provider that faces similar challenges and possesses comparable characteristics to the proposed Bulawayo utility.

The meeting minutes stated that the “broad learning visit objectives are to gain experience from a water and sanitation utility with similar characteristics and challenges as the envisaged utility for the City of Bulawayo, gaining insight and knowledge on the governance structure of Johannesburg Water.”

Johannesburg authorities have reportedly agreed to host the large delegation of 25 individuals. The Bulawayo council’s representatives include 10 councillors, among them key committee chairpersons such as Councillor Mpumelelo Moyo (Finance and Development), Councillor Royini Delete (Environmental Management and Engineering Services), Councillor Ntombizodwa Khumalo (Health, Housing and Education), and Councillor Dumisani Netha (Town Lands and Planning).

Also listed to travel are the Mayor, Councillor David Coltart, and his Deputy, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu. However, internal communications leaked from a councillors’ WhatsApp group indicate significant disagreement within the council about this trip. In these messages, Mayor Coltart voiced his concerns about the size of the delegation, cautioning that the public would likely view it negatively, especially given the severe water shortages residents are currently experiencing.

“Aside from who goes, we need to understand that the public will view us sending a delegation of 29 in a very bad light,” wrote Councillor Coltart, suggesting a much smaller group consisting of only the city’s water engineers and a few selected councillors.

“In my view, only our water engineers and a few selected councillors should go. I would prefer a delegation of no more than eight people. There is simply no need for me or the town clerk to travel.”

Councillor Coltart further argued that it would be irresponsible to spend a substantial amount of ratepayers’ money on such a large trip while many residents are struggling with irregular water supplies.

“We must understand as elected councillors that the public will view a large delegation in an exceptionally poor light,” he emphasized.

When contacted for comment, Councillor Coltart confirmed the planned trip but stated that discussions regarding the delegation’s size and composition were still ongoing.

“It is still being debated. There is some truth in the fact that we need to have a look at Johannesburg Water, but the size and composition of the delegation hasn’t been finalised,” he said.

Acting Director of Water and Sanitation, Engineer Kwanele Sibanda, recently clarified during a stakeholder meeting that the proposed establishment of a water and sanitation utility in Bulawayo is aimed at improving service delivery, attracting funds and investments, enhancing accountability, reducing water shortages, and increasing efficiency. He emphasized that it is not intended to privatize water services.

The BCC has proposed creating a Private Limited Corporate Organisation to unlock external funding opportunities, with US$17 million specifically allocated for upgrading the city’s water infrastructure.

This initiative aims to address long-standing infrastructure problems and is expected to benefit from the technical expertise and resources of partners like the Veolia Environment Institute (VEI).

The envisioned utility would operate as a specialized and professionally managed entity, entirely owned by the City of Bulawayo, with the goal of improving operational efficiency and the quality of water service delivery.