Challenges residents would want to forget
FOR close to two decades, Harare residents have had to endure biting water shortages.
Some youths born in the new millennium have never had a relaxing shower experience.
The “bucket system” is often the order of the day.
Potable water is usually sourced from alternative sources, mostly community boreholes and unprotected wells, which pose a serious health hazard to the public.
Harare’s eastern suburbs have gone for years without water.
In some areas, supplies are erratic and rarely exceed three days per week.
“I have never seen running water from the taps,”said 19-year-old Takudzwa Mapako from Old Tafara.
But residents continue to pay steep tariffs for services that are poor or non-existent.
Enterprising vendors operating “water kiosks” have since moved in.
In Dzivarasekwa Extension, a 200-litre container of water is being sold for US$5.
The same quantity costs as high as US$20 in areas like Mabvuku, Tafara, Ruwa and Kuwadzana that have a dire water crisis.
“It’s a fair deal. We fetch water during the night and early in the morning while most people are asleep, then we sell it to them during the day,”explained one of the water vendors.
But others get their water from major bulk water suppliers.
In recent years, Annah Tatire of Kuwadzana Extension in Harare developed a daily routine that sees her waking up at 4am to fetch water at the community borehole.
Sometimes she is often greeted by long and winding queues.
And when the borehole breaks down, which it often does, Tatire is forced to resort to the heavily polluted shallow wells.
Funds permitting, the mother-of-four occasionally buys water from the many water kiosks, or mobile water vendors, that have mushroomed across most high-density suburbs.
Water shortages have often resulted in outbreaks of such water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid.
In 2008, the country experienced a devastating cholera outbreak that left thousands of people dead.
Tatire, like several other residents, has given up on the prospect of having regular and clean tap water.
Leon Kufandirimbwa of Budiriro is failing to understand why the city is facing water challenges when the country had good rains during the 2020-2021 season.
“It boggles my mind that after receiving such good rains, we still experience water shortages. Where did all that water go? We have countries that are semi-deserts but have a better situation than ours,” Kufandirimbwa, who was waiting for his turn to draw water from a community borehole, said.
While some residents are complaining of intermittent water supplies, others like Muchineripi Zhangazha of Nehanda in Dzivarasekwa have for the past decade failed to get connected.
“I am not sure why, but we are yet to get connected to the council’s water system. I gave up after spending a good five continuous years frequenting council offices, requesting for a connection. I have since resorted to making do with community boreholes and wells,” Zhangazha said.
Most residents now eagerly await the rainy season for temporary reprieve.
“At least we will collect water from our gutters and use it for laundry, ablution and general house cleaning. Our trips to and from the borehole are going to be greatly reduced,” said an optimistic Wadzanai Mutsago, a Mabvuku resident.
Blame
Over the years, the Harare City Council has come under fire for failing to address the shortages.
“Our water situation is dire. This can be easily solved if all of the money that is collected from water is put back to maintain the water delivery system.
“This water crisis is caused by the poor management of resources by the local authority,” said the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Harare Metropolitan Province Oliver Chidawu during an interactive session with Harare residents.
“Councils must first account for their collections. Government will then assist through devolution funds,” he added.
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba believes the water crisis in the capital is caused by a number of factors.
“There is no serious commitment from local authorities to genuinely find a solution to the crisis. Corruption and incompetence have also combined to hinder progress in finding a lasting solution for Harare water,” he said.
claims that 60 percent of Harare’s
HRT treated water is being lost through leakages and illegal connections.
“Council should plug the leakages and that way, more treated water would reach ratepayers, thus increasing council revenues. The rest will follow if they address the primary challenges of supply.”
The Harare City Council partly blames residents for some of the problems that the city is facing.
The local authority is currently owed $1 billion by the Government, companies and residents.
But the completion of Kunzvi Dam, whose construction is underway, raises prospects of ending the challenges.
It will have the potential to deliver more than 150 million cubic litres of water daily for domestic, agricultural and industrial to Harare and Chitungwiza.
This will be complemented by existed raw water sources. Harare currently gets much of its water from
Lake