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Civil
Society, CHRA speak on Minister Chombo's directive on Harare water
and sewer
Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA)
June 11, 2009
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
convened a Civil Society meeting on water on the 10th of June 2009
at the CHRA boardroom in the city centre. The meeting was prompted
by the Minister of Local Government's directive to Council
to constitute a water utility to manage water supply and sewer reticulation
for Harare. The meeting that was attended by seven representatives
of civil society organizations sought to collect opinions from civic
society and adopt a common position with respect to the best water
supply and sewer reticulation management model for the city of Harare.
The Civic society representatives and leaders in attendance were
guided by the following in finding a common position:
- Residents
have a right to access clean and adequate water as and when they
need it.
-
The residents have been denied this right for a long time as evidenced
by the chronic water shortage that has hit the city for the past
5 years.
-
The Water crisis is a result of mismanagement by the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority
-
The current water crisis is being compounded by the reluctance
by the Ministry of Local Government to let the City of Harare
independently run water supply and sewer reticulation management.
-
The current water problems are also a result of the intense and
extensive damage on the water and sewer reticulation infrastructure
by ZINWA.
-
Hundreds of innocent lives were lost as a result of cholera; which
was a direct result of this water crisis
-
The decision by Government to return water and sewer reticulation
management to City of Harare is supreme and was a clear realization
of the water crisis that had been created by ZINWA.
-
The City of Harare under the leadership of Mayor Muchadei Masunda
has made tremendous strides under the current circumstances (of
reckless and constant interference by the Ministry of Local Government;
and extensive damage done by ZINWA) to raise revenue for the resuscitation
of regular water supply and efficient sewer reticulation.
-
In this time of crisis, the Mayor and his team of councilors deserve
constructive criticism and the support of the residents.
Given this background,
civic society adopted a common position on the best water supply
and sewer reticulation model for the city of Harare; and this model
entails the following critical points;
- The management
of water supply and sewer reticulation must be carried out by
a Department in the City Council. The Director of that Department
(which can be called Water and Sewer) must be responsible to the
Town Clerk and the Council.
- A committee
of councilors (Committee can be called the Water and Sewer Committee)
be set up to monitor and make recommendations over the water supply
and sewer reticulation management. This committee may comprise
of the Mayor, Councilors with civil engineering background and
the Town Clerk must be an ex officio member. The committee must
however include elected councilors; as the majority in that committee.
We prefer this
kind of a model because:
- Councilors
are the legitimate and elected community leaders; ultimately responsible
and accountable for municipal service delivery. Water supply and
sewer reticulation are at the core of municipal service delivery.
In that regard councilors must be in control of the water supply
and sewer reticulation services; for they cannot be accountable
for a service they are not in control of. Further; to loose control
over water supply and sewer reticulation is to loose control over
municipal service delivery but at the same time remaining responsible
to the residents. This will be an untenable position for both
councilors and residents!!
- Previously,
under the ZINWA regime, the residents were completely stuck with
their water and sewer issues, as ZINWA officials refused to account
to the residents and there was no any other practical way of holding
ZINWA accountable. For instance ZINWA officials refused to meet
the residents whenever they were called to account for water and
sewer challenges being faced in the local communities. Thus keeping
the water and sewer reticulation within the City Council ensures
transparency and accountability.
- Water supply
and sewer reticulation is a key/strategic source of revenue for
the city council. Previously, we noted that water supply and sewer
reticulation management contributed 40% towards the total annual
revenue for the council. Therefore keeping the water supply and
sewer reticulation management within the City Council ensures
protection of revenue for the council and residents.
We are particularly
opposed to the suggestion of creating a Water Utility that manages
the water supply and sewer reticulation on the following critical
basis:
- It does not
ensure transparency and accountability as espoused above. Rather
it encourages mismanagement, corruption and general deterioration
of municipal service delivery. A calamity like the Cholera crisis
the city is currently battling with will be the most likely result.
- To create
another so called water utility after the Government agreed to
return the water management to the City Council is practically
to create another "ZINWA scenario" which is associated
with cholera, water shortages, corruption, mismanagement and lack
of accountability.
- The disadvantages
of a water utility have been well experienced and witnessed in
the past 5 years.
Residents of
Harare hope that Minister Chombo will let the City of Harare make
its own decision with respect to this issue. The Minister and the
City Council must always remember the thousands of precious and
innocent lives compromised and lost as a result of the ZINWA mediocrity
which led to the water crisis and ultimately the cholera crisis
in Harare. Minister Chombo and the City Council must abstain from
cheap politics and pursuing selfish goals at the expense of the
lives of the people, for it is not only criminal but a sin of which
we all know the wages of sin!
Visit the CHRA
fact
sheet
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