Mabvuku and Tafara residents have been without water for two months. Other areas affected include Glen Lorne, Highlands, Kuwadzana, Budiriro, Warren Park, Glen View, Masasa, Glen Norah and Dzivarasekwa.
While the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is failing to restore water supplies to these areas, it is also failing to fix water pipes where water is gushing out; particularly in most parts of Kuwadzana and the Central Business District.
The Mayor and Chairperson for the Harare city council, Muchadei Masunda, has expressed his view that water supply management must be brought back to the city council, leaving ZINWA to concentrate on bulk water management only. His Chitungwiza counterpart, Israel Marange, agreed.
 ZESA plunges suburbs into darkness
HARARE – Electricity supply throughout the city is erratic, with most suburbs spending few hours with electricity per day. Warren Park, Mufakose, Glen View, Glen Norah, Highlands and Dzivarasekwa receive electricity for less than two hours a day.
ZESA Public Relations manager said that the return of electricity supply would depend on the availability of foreign currency. Harare has been gripped by a sudden wave of burning transformers, which ZESA puts the blame on vandals who are draining transformer oil. Mount Pleasant has been without ZESA supply since July 17.
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has urged residents to desist from this kind of criminal behavior and be wary of criminal elements who are damaging the electricity transformers. Residents have a duty to report such cases of vandalism to ZESA or the police.
Raw sewage invades suburbs
HARARE – Sewer spillages continue to characterize the face of most of the residential suburbs. Raw sewage is a common sight in Mufakose, Mabvuku, Tafara, Highfields (Canaan Engineering), Glen Norah and Dzivarasekwa.
Residents in Mabvuku have resorted to digging drainage trenches across their yards to avoid raw sewage from spilling into their homes. The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) mourns the state’s decision to ban NGO and civic society organisation’s activities. Before the ban, CHRA was carrying out popular action campaigns which would see residents teaming up to engage in some kind of waste management activities.
In Mbare the Association did a lot of work around refuse collection and sewer management. CHRA provided cleaning materials, detergents and protective clothing for the cleaning of Matapi flats. The Association urges the council to engage ZINWA and find a lasting solution to the sewer problems.Â
Rent payable in forex
HARARE – Accommodation in most of the low to medium density suburbs is now being charged in United State dollars, while for the high density areas, landlords are charging in South African Rand. In areas like Warren Park and Mufakose, a single room is going for 100 Rands, while in places like Avondale and Highlands landlords are charging USD100 per room per month.
Landlords argue that, they cannot charge rentals in local currency, whose value is seriously eroded by inflation on a daily basis. Meanwhile, forex remains difficult to access for most of the lodgers whose monthly income earnings are well below the poverty datum line. A group of 11 families is currently sleeping in the open along Airport road, after being evicted. The families are failing to find alternative accommodation as a result of the rentals being charged in forex.
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