Zim PM angers Bulawayo Residents

Civic Society Organisations (CSOs) have lashed out at Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’ s sentiments that the water problems facing Bulawayo should not be treated as a regional issue, alleging the inclusive government is downplaying the city’s water crisis.
The PM allegedly told a private CSOs meeting on Saturday in Bulawayo that the crisis is not peculiar to the city but is a national problem. Shalom Trust leader Anglistone Sibanda speaking to Radio Dialogue said Tsvangirai’s views that water problems should not be seen as a Matabeleland issue but a national crisis are a sign that the government is not committed to ending the city’s water problems.
“The PM came to the meeting ill prepared because what he said to us was shocking, he really didn’t want to give us solutions or hope regarding the water situation in Bulawayo,” Sibanda said.
“He tried to convince us to stop discussing regional issues but to focus on the national agenda which he kept referring to as removing Zanu PF from power but to us regional issues are what affect our daily lives.”
“In a way, the PM is not concerned about the issues that affect Bulawayo and Matebeleland and as civic society leaders and as Bulawayo residents we are worried about that,” he said.
Sibanda, also of the Matebeleland Civic Society Forum said the water crisis being experienced in the region is a sign of a leadership crisis.
“When you have national leaders of that level who will try to downplay issues affecting people, it is a clear sign of a central government that will not provide solutions, as it is at the moment we will have to be content with supporting local authority initiatives,” Sibanda said.
The MDC-T leader, addressing his supporters during the party’s 13^th anniversary at the White City Stadium in Bulawayo, accused Zanu-PF of failing to craft viable water policies before the formation of the inclusive government.
“The water crisis in Bulawayo is a deliberate policy executed for the last 30years to marginalise and disfranchise the people of this region,” Tsvangirai said.
“The water problems did not start because the MDC T is in coalition, these problems are a manifestation of a deliberate policy presided over by Zanu PF.”
Habakkuk Trust Chief Executive Officer and Matebeleland Civic Society Forum spokesperson Dumisani Nkomo said no urgent measures are being put in place by government to address the water crisis. Nkomo said it is sad that parties in the inclusive government have started trading blame over water crisis.