The southern part of Zimbabwe has received below average rains for the past three years, believed to be a result of climate change. In addition, illegal gold panning has contributed to increasing silting of dams which in turn has reduced the capacity of the dams to supply water to the city of Bulawayo. Residents of Bulawayo have only four days of water supply in a week and two out of five Bulawayo’s water supply dams have been decommissioned. Each household has been asked to save at least 200 litres of water every day to ease the crisis.
World Water Day commemorations came at a time when concerned residents of Bulawayo are advocating for lowering water consumption at industrial, household and individual level. Members of the Edmund Rice Society from two schools in Bulawayo held banners along school driveways on the 22nd of March. The two Edmund Rice Society groups merged on the 25th together with the municipality and two non-governmental organisations for a public address ceremony at St Patrick’s College (CBC Bulawayo) highlighting the significance of the World Water Day and the need to conserve water in the context of the Bulawayo crisis. A highlight of the ceremony was the presence of Miss Earth Zimbabwe, Dimitra Markou, who visited the college to support the Bulawayo City Council’s water conservation campaign. (photo shows Miss Earth Zimbabwe with some of the CBC students)
Pamphlets and charts with water conservation messages were also distributed for classrooms and the audience.
Thanks to Passmore Chingwere for the information for this article.