For several months now and countless weekends, Harare City Council has cut water supplies to residents on the basis of carrying out refurbishments at Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant, subjecting people to days on end without running water.
NewsDay Comment
The so-called shutdowns are ostensibly meant to improve the efficiency of the water treatment plant, but most ratepayers would agree that water supply has not improved the slightest bit since the local authority started its almost weekly shutdowns.
To add insult to injury is that most people receive estimated water bills, which are not reduced in spite of them going for almost half the week without running water.
If the City of Harare was honest, then water bills must be cut correspondingly by at least a third to cater for the days when residents do not have supply, but it seems the mandarins at Town House are only after money with scant regard for service delivery.
What this means, in a nutshell, is that Harare residents are being forced to pay bills for water they are not receiving and have every right to scream blue murder.
The local authority is usually very vigilant in demanding what is owed to it and has threatened several times to cut water supplies for defaulting residents, but we wonder if they take into consideration that people in Harare spend no less than three nights on most weekends without any water supplies.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
To make matters worse, when supply is finally restored, the water is very dirty and cannot be used for anything else besides flushing the toilet.
For long, Harare has had a reputation of supplying water that is unfit for human consumption and we hope that after the completion of these installations and repairs, there shall be a discernible difference.
Harare, as the capital city, is the door to Zimbabwe and it does not augur well for the country when visitors come and have to spend three days without water. Tourists will not be faulted for thinking this is a microcosm showing that all is not well in the country.
If Harare desires to be a world-class city by 2025, then they should begin by getting the small things right, ensuring everyone has clean accessible water always, rather than this scenario where residents spend three days without the precious liquid.
The local authority says the work is more than 70% complete, meaning there is light at the end of the tunnel. But on the other side, it means residents should watch Harare City Council like hawks to see if there is any improvement in water quality and supply.
