Bulawayo had a brutally slow year for getting anything done. Mayor David Coltart explained that the city's 2025 service delivery was crippled by a massively delayed budget approval, endless bureaucracy, and broken funding promises from higher levels of government. Key projects like the Glass Block Dam and the Egodini development failed to launch, with the only real achievement being a citywide cleanup effort that faced significant obstacles.
The water shortage remains the biggest crisis, with promised central government funds never arriving. While some pump station upgrades have reduced water shedding from 130 to 96 hours, major solutions are stalled. Funding for the Glass Block Dam from the African Development Bank and Standard Bank is tangled in red tape, meaning the earliest completion date is 2028. Road improvements are also lagging, as the Zimbabwe National Road Administration has not honored commitments to upgrade major routes like the Gwanda to Victoria Falls Road, though work continues on the 6th Avenue Extension.
Coltart dismissed rumors of a feud with the town clerk, stating the contract extension issue was resolved in a council meeting. Looking ahead, the city desperately needs its 2026 budget approved quickly to avoid a repeat of this year's paralysis, hoping to finally start the dam, restart Egodini, and tackle sanitation and road maintenance.
The water shortage remains the biggest crisis, with promised central government funds never arriving. While some pump station upgrades have reduced water shedding from 130 to 96 hours, major solutions are stalled. Funding for the Glass Block Dam from the African Development Bank and Standard Bank is tangled in red tape, meaning the earliest completion date is 2028. Road improvements are also lagging, as the Zimbabwe National Road Administration has not honored commitments to upgrade major routes like the Gwanda to Victoria Falls Road, though work continues on the 6th Avenue Extension.
Coltart dismissed rumors of a feud with the town clerk, stating the contract extension issue was resolved in a council meeting. Looking ahead, the city desperately needs its 2026 budget approved quickly to avoid a repeat of this year's paralysis, hoping to finally start the dam, restart Egodini, and tackle sanitation and road maintenance.
