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Service delivery deteriorating in Harare
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
July 26, 2008

Most parts of Harare remained dry in the past week. Mabvuku and Tafara residents are now going for the full second month without water. Other areas affected include Glen Lorne, Highlands, Kuwadzana, Budiriro, Warren Park, Glen View, Masasa, Glen Norah and Dzivarasekwa. Hatfield has gone for the last one week and some days with no drop of water while Mount Pleasant and Northwood has only had about 6 days of water in the last six months and has no water at all over the last 4 weeks. With no ZESA residents can't use boreholes and are paying the Zim $ equivalent of +- 80 US dollars for a drop of 5000 litres of water.

While the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) is failing to restore water supplies to these areas, the authority is surprisingly failing to fix water pipes where water is gushing out; particularly in most parts of Kuwadzana and the Central Business District. Meanwhile the Mayor and Chairperson for the Harare city council Mr Muchadei Masunda has expressed his view that water supply management must be brought back to the city council so that ZINWA will concentrate on bulk water management only. His Chitungwiza counterpart Mayor Israel Marange expressed the same sentiments. CHRA has for a long time been fighting the ZINWA take over on the basis that ZINWA lacks adequate technical capacity to manage water supply. CHRA hinted this week on a possible water bills payment boycott by residents; should the situation continue like this. In the past, CHRA mobilized residents to boycott rates payment to the illegal commissions appointed by the Minister of Local Government to run the city of Harare. Meanwhile CHRA urges the city council to intensify efforts to reclaim water supply management in the interests of saving lives.

Electricity supply
Electricity supply remains erratic, with most suburbs spending few hours with electricity per day. On average, suburbs like Warren Park, Mufakose, Glen View, Glen Norah, Highlands and Dzivarasekwa were getting electricity for not more than 2 hours. Please note that the length of the day for electricity usage is calculated from 0700hrs to 2000hrs. Residents of Shingai court in the Avenues went through their 4th week in darkness. Meanwhile another ZESA substation was engulfed by fire in Warren Park D, plunging parts of the suburb into darkness. ZESA Public Relations manager said that the return of electricity supply will 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 Thursday last week. There was brief resumption on Sunday night for 12 hours and then gone. CHRA urges the 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. However, the Association calls upon ZESA to be innovative enough to find security solutions to this problem. CHRA reiterates that ZESA cannot sit back and blame the situation on vandalism, while the innocent residents suffer continuously. CHRA will soon be mobilizing its wide membership for some popular action with regards to ZESA problems.

Sewer and waste management
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. CHRA mourns the state's decision to ban NGO and civic society organization'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.

Road maintenance
Pot holes, now commonly referred to as 'craters' because of their deep nature, have established themselves as permanent features on Harare's most roads. Deep potholes are found in most roads in Highfields (Canaan Engineering), Mufakose, Kambuzuma and Mabvuku. According to our reports, the council has not yet started any work to repair the roads. Whilst CHRA appreciates that the council inherited a 'dead' municipality from Chombo's (Minister of Local government) illegal and corrupt commissions, we urge the council to commence the road maintenance program and save the motorists from the nightmare they continue to experience as they drive on the roads. Roads are the face of the city; therefore to improve the roads is to improve the image of the city. CHRA has in the past implemented some road maintenance programs, and therefore stands ready to partner with the council to repair our roads.

Housing and shelter
A survey recently carried out by CHRA reveals that 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.

Although the economic crisis is the immediate force behind the charging of rentals in forex, CHRA notes that Operation Murambatsvina/Restore order left more residents homeless, as most of their homes were demolished. The operation also destroyed backyard structures, which for a long time had been accommodating thousands of residents who are now homeless. The Government is still failing to provide accommodation for the survivors of this notorious operation. The increased demand for accommodation, boosted by the state sponsored Operation Murambatsvina, has exacerbated the plight of the lodgers and low income earners. CHRA calls upon the state to come up with immediate measures that cushion the residents against the disastrous effects of Operation Murambatsvina. The Ministry of Local Government must provide direct loans to Local Authorities ear marked for housing development. CHRA demands that the state must be responsible for its irresponsible yet cruel actions like Operation Murambatsvina.

The Bread basket
The economic crisis continues to deepen with no sign of recovery at all. Prices for basic goods were increasing by 500% per day last week. This week, prices for most of the basic goods have been going up at 800% per day. For instance, a 10kg of mealie meal was going for zw$600 billion as at Saturday 19 July 2008, but on Monday it shot up to zw$1, 08 trillion, before it shot up to zw$1, 9 trillion the following day.

With effect from this last week, most residents, who are lodgers, were grappling with their rentals. Owing to inflation, most landlords are now charging rentals in foreign currency. According to a survey carried out by CHRA recently, accommodation in high to medium density suburbs is charged in South African Rand, while in low densities, charges are made in United States Dollars. For instance, most landlords in areas like Warren Park and Budiriro charge R100 per room per month, while in Highlands, Hillside and Borrowdale a room ranges from USD100 to USD200 per month. Given that monthly income earnings for most residents fall far short of the poverty datum line, the charging of rentals in forex and the rising inflation continues to put the cost of living beyond the affordability of the residents. The table below shows the cost of living for an average family of six in Harare, for the previous week (13-19 July 2008) and last week; 20-26 July 2008:

The minimum wage remains at zw$100 billion yet an average family of six people needed zw$29, 57 trillion to go through last week. The plight of the residents is exacerbated by the fact that the maximum amount daily withdrawal limit from the bank stands at zw$100 billion. This amount was not even enough for the residents to commute to and from work, given that commuter operators were charging zw$80 billion for a single trip by Friday 25 July 2008. The irresponsible and heartless Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono remains deaf to the calls by the starving residents that the daily maximum withdrawal limit of 100 billion does not make sense which ever way one looks at it.

Meanwhile NGOs remain banned from distributing food relief to the starving residents amid reports that the state is giving out aid to supporters of ZANU PF only. There are also reports that even the majority of ZANU PF supporters are not getting this aid as most of the goods are taken by the chefs for sale at the black/parallel market. The so called "peoples' shops" started by ZANU PF during its election campaign appear to have been fast blown away by inflation.

With transport and food costs rising unabated; residents, parents and children are walking distances ranging from 15-20km to and from work and school on empty stomachs.

The political atmosphere
Despite the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the MDC and ZANU PF, the political environment in Harare and indeed across the nation remains very tense. ZANU PF militia bases remain intact in Sunningdale, Mufakose and in Dzivarasekwa. Public gatherings remain banned while ZANU PF meetings are being held. CHRA recorded 12 acts of political intimidation of civic society activists by suspected ZANU PF militia. The raids on the vendors at Mbare Musika by the resident ZANU PF aligned group of thugs called 'Chipangano' continues unabated.

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