Judith Ngozo, Epworth

Residents in parts of Harare continue to reject the Council’s proposition of regularizing water consumption by installing prepaid water meters.

The Harare Residents Trust, in a statement says the notion that the introduction of prepaid water meters in Harare resolves water challenges is far-fetched and unproven.

“The local authority, with the backing of some international financial institutions have been warming up to the idea, but they have not done enough to ensure the consistent provision of safe, potable and adequate water. The HRT on its part has held community meetings with residents where there are mixed sentiments on the possible impacts of the prepaid water meters,” reads the HRT’s statement.

According to the residents from Mbare, Epworth, Hopley and Chitungwiza, water scarcity has become a critical challenge affecting mostly women and children who bear the burden to search for the precious liquid.

“There is no need for Council to regularize water consumption through the installation of prepared water meters because we already struggling to access Council water from our tapes,” said Maud Chifodya, from Epworth.

Residents say Council water is already scarce, and they have improvised through sinking boreholes, others travelling for more than 10 kilometers to search for water.

“We already have a health risk as there is no reliable Council water in our tapes, we are being rationed and have been forced to rely on people who have boreholes and shallow wells, who sell the water for US$1, for four buckets,” Chifodya added.

Section 77 of the New Constitution recognizes the right to safe, clean and portable water.

Harare City Council last week issued a statement on its temporary decommissioning of Prince Edward Water treatment plant as Harava and Seke dams which feed into the waterworks have dried up, which could increase water scarcity within the city’s residential areas.

According to HRT, 45 percent of the households in Harare are connected to the Council water system with the majority relying on alternatives like community and private boreholes, shallow wells and unprotected water wells.

“If at all the council is considering this option of installing prepaid water meters, then they have to first ensure that they have built their capacity to supply all the connected households, they have addressed the questions of quality, accessibility and acceptability of the water they currently deliver to the ratepayers,”

“HRT recognizes that water is a right to be enjoyed by every citizen irrespective of political, economic and social status. The quality of water should meet the basic standards set by the World Health Organization, (WHO). Where a resident has been disconnected, it should be the responsibility of the local authority to provide the affected citizen with 20 liters of water daily, in line with the UN standards. Zimbabwe is a signatory to that resolution, water is a right which should not be denied anyone,” reads the HRT statement.

The HRT states that installing prepaid water meters is a way of generating revenue hardly accounted for.

“It must be noted that in the past, the City of Harare has undertaken water meters’ replacement project but these initiatives were discontinued before replacing all the dysfunctional and stuck conventional water meters. Incompetent officials are simply looking at their revenue streams without bothering to address the issue of improving services rendered to the residents,” reads the HRT statement.