Redcliff residents are tired of promises to end their water woes spurn before, during and after elections, with nothing concrete to reverse the water crisis hitting Redcliff Town. Redcliff Town is dry, very dry. Redcliff residents can spend months on end without water dripping out of their taps. Tapped water is scarce in this once iron mining town. The man made demise of once southern Africa steel making giant Ziscosteel affected the economic, social and industrial survival of Redcliff Town and the nearby city, Kwekwe. Kwekwe city council which has the source of the precious liquid intermittently cuts water consumed by residents in Redcliff Town, demanding payment of the spiraling water debt. Residents in Redcliff, Torwood and Rutendo have resorted to sinking boreholes on their properties in order to have access to water for all daily chores and drinking. “ We had water running in our taps four months ago I can accurately count on my fingers, how many months water ran in our taps this year in Redcliff. Water is our perennial challenge and it seems no solution is coming very soon. Political leaders in Redcliff have run short of solutions to Redcliff water woes. Maybe Redcliff residents are being punished for their voting pattern which seemed not to favor ZANUPF. I think it is time voters in Redcliff Town change their voting pattern. They should have done so by voting in Government Minister July Moyo and things would have been different “, lamented a visibly worried Redcliff Business man. The issue of water in Redcliff is very complex and needs a multi-pronged approach.the most important is for residents and corporates themselves to be encouraged and convinced to pay for the water they consumed in the past, as that is where the main problem lies, considering that only 20% are paying, and Redcliff owes City of Kwekwe nearly ZW$100 millionAlso, Redcliff town council needs to also consolidate their books so that all billing queries and objections raised by residents are immediately addressed, with a large number of residents alleging exorbitant amounts overcharged for water that was never consumed and was mainly based on estimates,Redcliff town needs to also coordinate water billing with Kwekwe city, as there are some questions as to exactly how much water Redcliff consumed vis a vis the amounts charged by Kwekwe – with the latest being a steep jump from an outstanding debt of ZW$76.7 million in January to the current ZW$100 million,“ Indeed, a political solution will be most helpful considering that a simple phone call from either the minister of local government, or the minister of state for Midlands provincial affairs to the city of Kwekwe can resolve most of these issues, especially the ballooning ZW$100 million bill, as well as urging ZISCOSTEEL to settle its own huge water debt to Redcliff Municipality, and another call to ZESA can instruct them to expedite the replacement of the stolen water pump power cable at ZISCOSTEEL”, said Tendai Mbofana, from Redcliff. Some residents interviewed by Chat Reporter Online said voting for ZANU PF in order to end the water woes would depend on the voters wishes . “Voting pattern can only be determined by the quality of candidates from political parties and credibility of the political parties in question and in fact this will never guarantee any resolution to our (Redcliff) challenges since once we capitulate to the whims of politicians we will forever be held at ransom for so many other issues in the future”, said Esther Mudzimiri from Simbi Park in Redcliff.
