‘Hwange residents lose water battle’ 14 April 2020

The High Court has dismissed an application by Hwange residents who were suing the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) and four Cabinet Ministers over a tight water rationing schedule. The water rationing exercise has resulted in parts of the mining town going for days without water.

…“The case is not urgent because residents knew about the water woes as far back as 2017 and they didn’t take any action. No basis has been made at all for urgency in this case, and I accordingly decline to hear this matter on the basis of urgency and should therefore be dealt with as an ordinary case,” ruled the judge.

…In his founding affidavit, the coordinator of the Greater Whange Residents Trust, Mr Fidelis Chima, said the water situation in the affected suburbs is breeding ground for Covid-19 among other waterborne diseases. “The situation is bad and creating a health hazard for Hwange and Zimbabwe at large. It is difficult for residents to maintain high standards of hygiene when there is no water. On 30 March 2020, Zimbabwe went into lockdown mode as it joined many other countries in putting in place measures to curb the spread of the deadly Coronavirus called Covid-19,” he said.