…ZB Holdings Say they have done their part
…Ruwa Local Board mum on the matter
RESIDENTS under Springvale, a ZB Financial Holdings Housing project in Ruwa have gone for close to a decade without running tap water, a situation that might soon expose residents to health hazards as some are now getting water from shallow wells and other alternative water sources.
By Michael Gwarisa
A visit to Springvale revealed that some residents were now being forced to fork out huge amounts of money to install boreholes and water tanks at their homes while those who can’t have to contend with getting from unsafe sources
Residents who spoke to this publication blamed ZB Bank for not having connected them to running water when they handed over the residential stands to the occupants.
Around this time, water is scarce and has become worse since the removal of the tank that used to supply residents. ZB drilled a borehole but after the tanks were stolen and solar system vandalized, nothing has happened so far. The residents had complained on the substandard installation which they didn’t correct and ended up being stolen.
“The residents now don’t have water since the developers never connected to the local council source. ZB is saying they cannot procure a valve for the reservoir that’s supposed to supply us with water. Now electrification of reservoir is being stalled. We don’t have water in our taps since 2013. It’s now as if we bought land from land barons,” said one Springville residents’ committee members who requested anonymity.
However, commenting on the development, ZB Financial Holdings said they have connected all their 890 housing units in Springvale to water and it was now left to the Ruwa Local board to do their part as they were responsible for ensuring water runs in all households.
In an interview with HealthTimes, ZB Financial Holdings Head Group Corporate Services, Mr Shadowsight Chiganze said the allegations of them not connecting residents to running tape water were unfounded and baseless.
“Phase 2 of the project is indeed connected to the water supply line and also benefits from the two boreholes that we installed. The allegations are noted and regrettably not speaking to the correct facts on the ground. Ruwa Local Authority is responsible for the supply of water to the community.
“The Springvale community is connected to water supply from the local authority. To ease the water challenges that have plagued Ruwa, ZB provided two community boreholes and handed them to the Springvale Residents Association. We are not facing any challenges as Springvale area is fully serviced with connection to both water and sewer facilities under the Ruwa Local Board,” said Mr Chiganze.
He added that they had built a 1Mega litre water tank for provision of clean water to Springvale residents and beyond and this was meant to assist the Local Authority in increasing its water infrastructure. The tank was handed over to Ruwa Local Board.
“In addition, two boreholes were installed to ease the water crisis in Ruwa and in particular Springvale. One borehole serves the PPC development directly whilst the other was handed over to the Residents Association. Every household under the Springvale community is already connected to the Ruwa Local Authority water supply line. ZB provided boreholes for the benefit of the community and one was handed over to the Residents Association. You may wish to engage the Ruwa Local Board on this unfortunate development.”
He also said they had also installed a borehole though it was later vandalized after it had been handed over to the residents and the community has always been welcome to use the other borehole which was also powered by ZB.
“Construction and connection of the reservoir was completed and the infrastructure was handed over to Ruwa Local Board who are the custodians of bulk water infrastructure. We believe that we did our best and fully discharged our contractual obligations to both the Springvale community and the Ruwa Local Board. However, every project has its own key learning areas and there is always room for improvement. Those key learnings will be used in implementation of future projects to provide better services,” added Mr Chiganze.
