CASH CRISIS LEAVES 2M WITHOUT WATER IN CAPITAL

Two million people in Zimbabwe’s capital have been left without water after the government ran out of foreign currency to pay for imported treatment chemicals.

The crisis signifies a new landmark in a spiralling economic crisis that has led to hyperinflation and caused shortages of essential imported commodities including wheat and fuel. It has also raised fears about an outbreak of water-borne disease.

Enock Mupamawonde, the acting mayor of Harare, said authorities had shut the city’s Morton Jaffray waterworks on Monday.

Pumping was due to resume Tuesday after the government procured a weeks’ supply of chemicals from local traders, but Mupamawonde warned that it was still unclear whether water treatment services could be sustained in the long term.

He said some of the city’s chemical supplies were stuck at the South African border, awaiting payment.