Kwekwe council drags Zinwa to court

By Jeffrey Muvundusi

Kwekwe City Council (Kwekwe) has dragged the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) to court demanding the latter be ordered to stop partial or complete disconnection of water supply over payment arrears.

The local authority is arguing the disconnections are unlawful.

This comes as the Midlands town has been without running water since last Friday, forcing its over 200 000 residents to resort to unprotected water sources, exposing them to diseases.

In a case filed at the High Court here on Thursday, Kwekwe town clerk Emmanuel Ngwena Musara in his founding affidavit said Zinwa …in terms of both the Constitution and its enabling legislation, should work together with the local authority in the progressive realisation of the right to water.

Musara defined the action by Zinwa to cut water supply as “outrageous and defies logic”.

“Given that the water reticulation infrastructure of city council and Zinwa are interconnected, it is difficult to manage the damage that such closure or stoppage has on the council’s infrastructure. The damage by Zinwa whenever it closes water supply runs into thousands,” he said. Daily News