MIDWEE REPORTER
MASHAVA-The water crisis in the mining town of Mashava has reached a crescendo as over 5 000 residents have gone three months without running water.
Residents of Temeraire Village, Temeraire Low Density, Eastvale, Diso, Westonlee, ZESA, and King Mine High and Low Density who say in houses owned Shabanie Mashaba Mine (SMM) Pvt Ltd are fetching water from potentially contaminated surrounding rivers due to heavy mining activities in Mashava.
“We are facing a very big risk of getting water borne diseases as we are fetching water from the stream down there (King Mine) where there is a lot of mining using cyanide and other dangerous chemicals. The boreholes where we get drinking water are not safe either because they could be contaminated underground by chemicals that are spilled from the mines that are dotted all over the area.
“Our life has been greatly affected by the lack of water, our children are waking up at 4am to get water before they go to school, we are now spending more time looking for water instead of working for our families,’ said a Westonlee resident on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
A former employee of SMM lambasted the mine management for failing to prioritise the health of the residents yet they are collecting money every month from the residents.
“We are paying $4 every month for water, but we are told the money is not being remitted to GZU so that we get water. This is cruelty, they stay in Zvishavane where there is water, yet here they don’t even care about our welfare.
“Criminals are taking advantage of the situation and are selling water at exorbitant prices, as much as $5 per cubic metre,” he said.
According to minutes in the possession of The Midweek Watch dated January 24, 2026 SMM owed Great Zimbabwe University $72 900 and it could be more by now as the water was disconnected in March.
The meeting which held at Mashava Canteen and was attended by Prof Chazovachiyi – Chairperson
Mr D.T. Sithole – Deputy Director, Works and Estates
Dr A. Chinyama – Director, Works and Estates
Engineer Nhedza – Engineer, Great Zimbabwe University
Engineer G. Mago – Amenities Engineer, SMM
Engineer E. Taru – Engineering Manager, SMM
The meeting’s agenda was to discuss models for water and electricity supply.
“SMM representatives indicated discrepancies in water consumption figures. They noted that Great Zimbabwe University’s meter readings differed from theirs, with figures reaching up to 27,000 cubic meters,” reads part of the minutes.
According to the minutes SMM is charged $2.70 per cubic meter and if they owe 27 000 cubic meters that means the total bill then was $72 900.
When contacted for a comment SMM chief executive officer, Chirandu Dhlembeu at first said he was at the doctor, the following day he said he will call back and on Thursday he said he will definitely return the call but never did so until the time of posting the story.
SMM manager, Patrick Muguti said the water was disconnected because the residents are not paying.
“These people are used to free things from the mine and they are not paying anything hence the water was disconnected, they are lying that they are paying, they have that mine culture of freebies,” said Muguti.
He refused to answer some questions as he said there are discussions going on between GZU and SMM and referred this reporter to the CEO.
However, some residents showed this reporter receipts where water was paid together with rentals.
Councillor Korowa Manyame told The Midweek Watch that they are making frantic efforts to rectify the water crisis.
“We scheduled a meeting with both parties to iron out the problems but they keep postponing. SMM is saying they paid and they don’t know why GZU has cut water supply, so we need to have a meeting and get the correct story before we have an outbreak of diseases in the area,” said Manyame.
Councillor Tawanda Dube said the mine management is slippery as they are never available to resolve the matter.
“I understand that those with leases are paying their water bills, but the former employees were not paying. I had a meeting with the residents recently and they expressed willingness to pay for the water. We will continue to engage the mine management until we reach a solution before the situation gets out of hand,” said Dube.
Efforts to get a comment from GZU director of public relations and communications, Anderson Chipatiso were unsuccessful as he was said to be out of Masvingo.
Below is a post by Engineer Mago of SMM in one of Mashava WhatsApp Groups: I understand that the former SMM employees were not paying for the water except those who are leasing mine houses. I had a meeting with the residents and they all said they are prepared to pay for the water, unfortunately the mine management is not forthcoming for a meeting. However, we will continue to engage the parties concerned to come up with a solution to the water crisis before the situation gets out of hand,” said Dube
“We noted with deep concern the message -circulated in this group by Senior Human Resources Officer Mashava Ms Nyambiya stating that the Mashava water challenges are SMM Properties issue.
“This statement is not correct and misleading to the Mine community in general. It is regrettable that SHRO appears to have overlooked the meeting held at King Mine between GZU and SMM Senior officialsdiscussing the subject of water and the billing, as GZU was claiming USD 27 000 for water consumed by the Mine community in Mashava.
In short GZU want all institutions and individuals to pay for water which they are getting from GZU. GZU owns the Water Pump Station and the pipeline which distribute water to the Mine area.
SMM Properties can only distribute water to the required locations around the Mine if it gets water from GZU. GZU is not prepared to do so if all beneficiaries are not prepared to pay for the water services.
The general community is also free to engage the GZU to find a lasting solution to the problem. Discussions are in progress between GZU and SMM, to find ways on how GZU can bill all beneficiaries of water as it is not the responsibility of SMM Properties.
