Erasmus Mabhebhura:

Harare water woes have created a new money spinning venture for small water business players who are now charging water per 20-litre bucket to residents in most hard-hit suburbs, forcing many to bath and do laundry in rivers.

The new industry is being driven by Harare and Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa)’s failure to supply the capital with constant water supplies on a sustainable basis, as most suburbs go for more than six consecutive days with their taps dry.

People in Glen Norah are buying 20-litre bucket at $3.

 “I am using an average $9 a day to buy 60 litres of water very day for domestic consumption. This is unsustainable,” Mrs Gweme said.

Some residents from Glen Norah and Hopley have since resorted to bathing and doing their laundry in the Mukuvisi River.

“As for us in Hopley, there are few boreholes so the demand for drinking water is exceedingly high. It’s better to have 20 litres for domestic use and bath in the river although the water is dirty,’’ a Mpofu said.

In the some extreme cases, Hopley residents are traveling as far as 3 kilometers to the Granville cemetery to get water for domestic use.