01 August 2007
ZINWA EXTORTS RESIDENTS
ZINWA has maintained its criminal habit of extorting and robbing residents of their hard earned money by imposing unfair water charges on Harare residents.
Sunningdale residents are facing hell as they are being forced to buy new water meters for themselves since the old ones are no longer working. They are also being told to hire private plumbers to fix faulty water pipes because ZINWA cannot help them.
They are also being charged an average of $50 000 per household when they report burst sewerage and water pipes.
Residents in Sunningdale are disgruntled by what they call the ‘oppression and corruption of ZINWA’.
The water utility is charging exorbitant amounts in water rates and residents believe this money should be used to repair faulty pipes and replace stuck water meters.
Residents of Glen View, Budiriro and Kuwadzana Phase 3, Dzivarasekwa 3 continue to receive exorbitant bills from the water utility yet most of the time there is no water.
In various cases, residents have complained about ZINWA’s inconsistent billing system leading to cases of inflated meter readings, based on estimates.
CHRA reiterates its calls for the disbandment of ZINWA due to its incapacity to deliver on key result areas of water supply, billing, administration and sewerage reticulation. In most high-density suburbs, there are numerous reports of burst sewer and water pipes that are not being repaired in time.
CHRA CHAIRPERSON URGES MEMBERS TO UNITE
THE Chairperson of CHRA Michael Jeffrey Davies has called on members of the residents’ movement to unite and desist from backbiting and fighting petty wars as this compromised on the Association’s vision of becoming an effective watchdog and vehicle for good governance in Harare and model for advocacy.
Mr Davies was addressing delegates to a four-day organisational development workshop held from 18- 22 July 2007.
He said the membership Association should convert its challenges into opportunities for sustainable development. Chief among the challenges he highlighted were the absence of properly constituted ward committees, power struggles and opportunism by some members.
Mr Davies urged members of the General Council (GC), CHRA’s supreme decision-making body to remain focused and committed to the founding ideals of CHRA.
Among the key values of CHRA are transparency, integrity, innovation, accountability, good governance, principled leadership, effective participation, consistency and fairness.
SENIOR CITIZENS SET TO BENEFIT
ELDERLY residents of Harare have paid tribute to CHRA for its continued sourcing of helpful information on benefits that accrue to senior citizens.
Last month the Association sourced information that has been mostly welcomed by senior citizens who feel that they must not be paying the full cost of any service on offer in the country.
Commercial banks and building societies are offering tax-free accounts to senior citizens while OK Supermarket, ZUPCO, and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) offer discounted or free transport to the elderly.
The City of Harare has also come up with a programme that will ultimately benefit the senior citizens in rates payment. Forms which cost $10 000 are on sale at all District Offices in your area.
CHRA continues to get more requests from residents who want to know the organisations that offer some exemptions to senior citizens.
State-run hospitals, ZINWA, ZESA and private transport operators will be approached to establish what kind of services they offer to Zimbabwe ’s senior citizenry.
RESIDENTS WORRIED BY VOTER REGISTRATION
KUWADZANA residents have expressed concern at the way the Office of the Registrar General has set up voter registration centres in the whole constituency, creating a fertile ground for the marginalisation of the majority of eligible voters.
The Registrar General’s Office has always come under heavy criticism ahead of every major election for its alleged bias and manipulation of the voter registration exercise and the actual voting.
Voter registration has been running from 18 June and will end on 17 August 2007.
Simon Phiri, the Ward 38 Coordinator told CHRA that residents in Kuwadzana had only two centres to register as voters.
These were Kuwadzana 8 Primary School and the District Office in Kuwadzana 2.
He said despite appeals to ZEC to increase the number of voter registration centres, they have not been successful, and it is feared more people have been unable to register as voters in next year’s crucial Parliamentary and Presidential Elections under the current exercise.
Monica Chokuwa, the Chairperson of the Information and Publicity Committee has urged members of the public to take time to visit the few voter registration points in their areas to see if their names appear on the voters’ roll.
“The main problem that residents face is that there are very few registration points in the suburbs, making it more difficult for those going to work to register as voters or to inspect the voters’ roll,” Mrs Chokuwa said.
She said more voter registration points must be opened in Harare to ensure that more people become registered voters.
ZANU PF ABUSES VENDORS
VENDORS in Harare are desperate for other interventionist strategies to save them from continued abuse by Zanu PF whenever the ruling party has a political rally in their neighbourhood.
There are widespread rumours among the vendors that those who do not attend Zanu PF meetings will be dealt with but no specific action has been disclosed.
It is also understood that in Mufakose, Zanu PF militants went from household to household allegedly registering people to become Zanu PF members.
Residents who were allocated vending places in Mufakose were in July forced to attend Zanu PF rallies in Kuwadzana and Dzivarasekwa.
ZUPCO buses were brought to ferry the vendors to a political rally in an attempt to counter another one held by the opposition MDC at Kuwadzana 4 grounds.
“They were ordered not to open their market places for business because of the rally,” Bake said. “This happened at Samuriwo, Mhishi and OK business centres in Mufakose. These people have families to look after and must not be forced to do things they do not want to do.”
Zanu PF resorts to violence against perceived opponents.
SERVICE DELIVERY REPORTS
Dzivarasekwa- Residents have endured flowing raw sewerage along Pasipanodya Street , Kaguvi Street and at Dzivarasekwa 2 bus terminus an insane person has piled refuse and metal rods in a public toilet, making it totally unusable.
In ward 40, particularly Dzivarasekwa 3, some households can only access water at night, according to Rorani Muchiwa, the Ward Chairperson.
Mufakose- IT is reported that refuse has continued to pile near Mhishi Shopping Centre.
Warren Park- Blocked sewerage pipes have become a common sight in the area with most landlords castigating the City of Harare and ZINWA for their continued failure to address this menace.
In a visit to the area, CHRA witnessed raw sewerage gushing out of several houses along 27th Crescent .
Mbare- Raw sewerage continues to flow along 6th, 7th and eighth streets in Mbare National making the roads impassable. This matter was reported on five occasions at the District Office at Remembrance Drive but nothing had been done as at 31 July 2007.
Health centres in the capital are severely depleted after the City of Harare failed for the third month running to resolve its dispute with striking health staff. Patients are no longer being treated. They are only being given medical prescriptions. The situation is so desperate that in the case of a severe disease outbreak, Harare would witness a health disaster of unimagined proportions.
Since the government’s crackdown on business and industry, shortages of basic goods have become a common experience.
Whenever people visit shops or any other business, there are long winding queues, also dominated by members of the uniformed forces.
Commuters have been forced to devise other ways of copying with fuel shortages like walking long distances to and from work.
KUWADZANA VICE CHAIRPERSON DIES
ELVIS Paradza, the Ward 44 Vice Chairperson is dead. He died on Saturday 16 June around 6pm at Parirenyatwa Hospital where he was admitted after being hit by a speeding vehicle along Bulawayo Road early June. He was 33 years.
Paradza left behind wife Netsai Chemubvumo, and two daughters Panashe (4) and Ruvarashe (1).
NB: Any member of the public is welcome to write stories to The Resident
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Contact Numbers:
Landline: 04- 705114 Mobiles: 0912 924 151 , 011 862 012, 011 443 578, 011 612 860, 011 612 811, 0912 869 291 , 0912 638 401 , Write to us on info@chra.co.zw or visit our website www.chra.co.zw or call the above numbers.
Regards
Precious Shumba
Information Officer
Combined Harare Residents’ Association
Mobile: 011 612 860 or 0912 869 294
Tel: 04-705114
Website: www.chra.co.zw
“Stand Firm. Be of Good Courage”