An audit report carried out by the Gweru City Council has revealed that water leaks detection equipment donated two years ago is lying idle.
The equipment was donated by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and a local company, Zimit.
The council’s engineering department is failing to use the equipment. Part of the report produced by the probe team reads:
An audit carried at council indicated that GIZ and Zimit Company donated water loss equipment to the council in 2017, but the apparatus is not being utilised.
The equipment comprises of leak locators which are not being used by the engineering department as confirmed by the audit.
Loss of water through leaks is rampant as the department (engineering) lacks appetite or capacity to attend to these leaks well mindful of the fact that water (supply) is treated.
Gweru loses at least 57 per cent of treated water through leakages, according to a 2018 report.