Residents of Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, are going for up to four days without water coming out of their taps as some supply dams have dried up due to a prolonged drought.
Since late November last year, the City Fathers imposed 96-hour dry periods for residential water customers, though industrial and business users have continued to receive service.
Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu, attributed the drought to the El Nino weather phenomenon. He said:
We are still recovering from a devastating drought that occurred (in 2018) due to El Nino. Under normal circumstances during this time of the year, the country would have recorded significant amounts of rainfall with impact on our dams.
Bulawayo City Council has so far decommissioned two of its six major supply dams due to extremely low water levels.
Council has been using trucks to supply water to some suburbs such as Nketa. However, a shortage of diesel has affected water truck deliveries in some areas.