COVID-19 has worsened the underlying structural and perennial problem of water shortages in Matabeleland North, South and Bulawayo provinces, said Dumisani Nkomo, chief executive officer for Habakkuk Trust, a nonprofit organization.

The forum advises communities on hygiene, social distancing and sanitization at boreholes and surrounding areas to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and even agrees with the use of ashes.

We call upon the government and local councils to assist rural communities by accelerating the drilling of boreholes, as water is essential to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” according to the forum.

Villagers in Maphisa district, south of Matabeleland South, said the local government has “turned its back” on its rural citizens in the fight against COVID-19 because most villages lack access to clean water.

When asked what the Zimbabwean government was doing to alleviate water shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural areas, Moment Malandu, the coordinator for the Matabeleland South District Development Fund, said his department is drilling more boreholes in rural communities.