The City’s proposed 2013 Budget was presented by the Finance and Development Committee on 25 October 2012. From our analysis of the revenues being collected by the City, the bulk of the money is coming from the water services, confirming that water is the council’s cash cow, which has reportedly financed most council’s operations, including payment of salaries and administration costs. There has not been any meaningful investment of the money accrued from water services into infrastructure development and expansion.
Despite these facts, the senior management of council, the mayor and the Government are not putting this at the top of their lists of projects to pursue. The water remains dirty and largely unavailable. Unbelievably, the council has been quick to act against residents of Rugare who owe the council huge amounts of money.
The HRT reiterates that budget formulation by the City of Harare should always link the costing of services to the incomes of the target people who will ultimately fund the budget priorities being imposed on the residents by the council. Most Rugare people are pensioners who worked for the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and have to contend with paltry monthly incomes of US$13 from the NRZ, yet they owe the City of Harare thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, mostly based on estimates.
If the Harare City Council has the audacity to take residents to court over non-payment of their bills, equally, the residents have to seriously consider taking the council to court over non-delivery of public services to the residents yet they continue to charge them. There is the existence of a social contract between the two parties which the council unfortunately has breached for more than 15 years now.
In the full council meeting which was convened on the 8th of November 2012 Councillor Wellington Chikombo Ward 28 Glen Norah expressed dismay over the quality of the water which residents in his ward are getting and described the quality of the water as ‘filthy’. He noted that the issue is of paramount importance as residents risk contracting medieval diseases like cholera and typhoid.
There is need for council to adopt a professional approach to the provision of clean and portable water to the residents who have not enjoyed this basic public service for a very long time and desist from the deliberate marginalisation of the poor majority who have basic needs that have to be attended to as a matter of priority. Council resources have been mainly directed towards salaries and allowances which have continued to consume most of the financial resources leaving public water delivery playing second fiddle and this arrangement has to be addressed.
Below is the water situation in the various areas across Harare:
Waterfalls Derbyshire, Shortson: Water is constantly available over the past two weeks, but largely with low pressure.
Mbare National: Water is consistently available.
Borrowdale: The water situation has not improved. They have not received water from the council.
Greendale, Mandara, Highlands and Chisipite-Water has not been available since last week Friday and this has been the general situation prevailing on the ground in these areas.
Highlands –Available in most areas.
Chisipite-.Inconsistent water supplies with trickles late in the evening to around noon but mostly there is no water, leaving residents to either purchase water from private water suppliers or private boreholes.
Highfield-In Western Triangle the water is coming out but has low pressure. The residents in this area spend a long time fetching water as it trickles when coming out.
Glenview –Water is available during the whole day though they have been experiencing low pressure from 6am to 11 am since 05 November 2012. When the water is coming out in these areas it is brownish in colour.
Glen Norah A and Glen Norah B- water in these areas is available from 10pm to 6 am leaving residents to rely on boreholes. In most instances residents in Glen Norah B complained of diarrhoeal infections and stomach pains whenever they drink city water, and the water is smelly.
Budiriro 4- Water is available from 10 pm to 6 am in the morning. The residents rely on borehole water for drinking purposes.
Budiriro 3- There are perennial water shortages and the residents resort to the use of the nearby borehole which is at most times overwhelmed.
Mufakose –This area has water but the water is very dirty and smelly. Residents fetch drinking water from Budiriro 4 boreholes.
Mabvuku Tafara- In the past three days the area had no water and the residents resorted to an open valve in Mabvuku which they used for domestic consumption and laundry. The residents are now complaining that the area which is the water point is very dirty as a stench smell is now prevailing and the long distance they take from their households to the water point is strenuous.
Marlborough, Good Hope-Some residents of Goodhope have not had received council water since last year and the explanation given by Harare Water Department Customer Services Manager Mr Mwaziya was that the area has not been fully inspected by council and some of the structures there have not been regularised.
Post published in: News