Boreholes are not the solution to Zimbabwe’s water crisis—they may worsen it.
Groundwater can certainly be part of the solution, but it must not become the primary approach.
The Zimbabwean government has, in recent years, taken to vigorously drilling boreholes across the country as its signature approach to solving the country’s deepening water crisis.
Branded as the “Presidential Borehole Drilling Programme,” this initiative aims to install boreholes in all of Zimbabwe’s 35,000 villages by 2025.
What may appear at face value as a noble gesture to provide clean and accessible water—especially to underserved rural communities—is, in fact, a glaring indictment of the government’s failure to implement sustainable, equitable, and future-proof solutions to one of the most basic human needs.
Water is not a privilege. It is a fundamental right.
