HARARE Mayor Jacob Mafume has sounded the alarm on the capital's escalating water crisis, revealing that the city's demands have surged to 500 megalitres per day - and even the long-awaited Kunzvi Dam won't be enough to quench the thirst of 3.4 million residents.
Mafume praised the government for the Kunzvi Dam project, which is now nearing completion, but cautioned that additional dams will be required to meet the rising demand.
"Harare's water works supply Harare City itself, Chitungwiza, Epworth, Ruwa and Norton," Mafume told NewsDay.
"Currently, demand for water in the greater Harare area is pegged at 500 megalitres per day, which is quite a lot."
The Kunzvi dam represents the city's first major water infrastructure project since Morton Jaffrey Dam was built in 1976, nearly half a century ago.
"I want to pay tribute to the government and specifically the Ministry of Water for constructing Kunzvi Dam. I am happy and satisfied that the project is now nearing completion, and this is going to ease water supplies in Greater Harare," Mafume said.
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Once completed, the dam will benefit areas including Mabvuku and the eastern parts of the city, providing much-needed relief to the sprawling metropolis.
In a separate development, Mafume declared that the era of post-paid municipal services is over, with the city rolling out pre-paid water meters.
The City of Harare, in partnership with Helcraw Water Private Limited, has already installed 80,000 pre-paid water meters across the capital—a move the mayor says aligns with global trends toward pre-payment systems.