By James Gwati- President Mnangagwa arrived in Bulawayo and is expected to commission the Epping Forest project and groundbreaking ceremony of the Gwayi-Shangani pipeline.

The Gwayi-Shangani pipeline is expected to end the perennial water challenges Bulawayo faces.

The government said it needs an estimated US$3,5 billion to link Bulawayo to the Zambezi River which another long-running project touted as a panacea to the second-largest city’s perennial water shortages.

The Zambezi Water Project was mooted in 1912 during the colonial era and was inherited by the Zimbabwe government in 1980 but no progress has been registered this far.

Bulawayo is battling continuous water problems due to increased population growth versus few dams and recurring droughts.
The residents are subjected to a strict water rationing regime with those in the high-density suburbs receiving potable water only once a week.