By BRIAN HATYOKA –
SOUTHERN Water and Sewerage Company (SWASCO) has assured Livingstone residents of uninterrupted water supply on 24 hours basis following the arrival of 6.7 kilometres of water pipes from China. The pipes are part of the K65 million funding the utility company received from the Zambian Government to improve water supply in the city in readiness for the 20th session of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly which was held in August 2013.
SWASCO director of operations Gift Monde said the complaints of irregular water supply by Livingstone residents would soon be a thing of the past as water pipes covering a stretch of 6.7 kilometres had arrived from China.
Mr Monde said in an interview yesterday that the pipes would be used to install a new water line from Zambezi River raw intake to the treatment plant to increase production and water supply on 24 hours basis.
“The pipes are just one component of the K65 million we received from the Government as the replacement of the pipes network in Libuyu Township in Livingstone has already been completed.
Part of the funding will also be used to construct water reservoirs in Livingstone’s Highland Township which also faces erratic water supply,” Mr Monde said.
He urged Livingstone residents to be patient as the new pipes, which are aimed at increasing water supply, would be installed soon.
Recently, some Livingstone residents criticised (SWASCO)’s hiked water tariffs, saying the supply of the commodity in the tourist capital had been very poor to warrant increments in charges.
But SWASCO regional manager Goodson Masheka assured residents that the utility company had put measures in place to improve water supply and service delivery to clients.
In a notice published in the Times of Zambia recently, SWASCO announced that the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) approved a tariff adjustment for the company effective February 1, 2014 on a three year tier system to January 31, 2015.
SWASCO stated that its water bills for the month of February 2014 would be based on the new tariffs.
