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City
Watch
Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA)
February 09, 2010
The City of Harare still
has a long way to go to improve municipal service delivery. The
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) notes with concern
that the Council is not doing much in revamping the virtually collapsed
service delivery system that has seen the city being marred with
piles of uncollected refuse in the residential areas, potholed roads,
dysfunctional street lights and persistent water cuts among a myriad
of other mishaps.
Water supply
The water situation remains
a challenge as most areas are still experiencing dry spells. Areas
like Msasa Park only receive water once a week, while areas like
Mabvuku-Tafara, Glen Lorne, parts of Greendale, Greystone Park and
Mandara are still experiencing perennial dry spells. The New stands
area in Mabvuku Tafara has not received any water supplies for more
than a year now. Most of the boreholes that had been drilled in
the area are no longer working. Residents have resorted to digging
shallow wells at their homesteads but some of the wells have dried
up due to the limited rainfall. Herentials College and the Church
of Later Day Saints have been providing residents with clean water
from their boreholes but the supplies are not enough to meet the
high demand for water. The borehole located at the Bridge in Old
Tafara is the one that is still working among the boreholes that
were drilled by UNICEF in Mabvuku-Tafara. The table below shows
the water situation in some of the Harare suburbs.
| AREA
|
WATER
QUALITY |
AVAILABILITY
|
SEWER |
| Dzivarasekwa |
Good |
Sections
83 to 100 haven't been getting water for the past 3 years.
However, the rest of Dzivarasekwa has been getting regular supplies. |
|
| Mufakose |
Good but
some residents are boiling water for drinking. Some residents
are buying water treatment tablets and JIK at Shops& Pharmacies |
Uninterrupted
and continuous water supplies for the past month but the pressure
of the water is usually low. |
Frequent
sewer bursts near Rukudzo bar in Ward 34. The City of Harare
dug a trench to fix the sewer pipes along Kufudzamombe and Mhishi
Roads but the trench has been lying in state for the past six
months |
| Mabvuku-Tafara |
The quality
is poor as residents usually get water from unprotected sources |
No Municipal
tap water for the past 6 months while some areas have gone
for a year. Most of the boreholes that were sunk in the area
are not working.
The area
near Tafara District Offices has not received water supplies
for the past 5 years.
Residents
wash their clothes at Gosden River. Others do their laundry
at shallow wells dug near Chemanza Grounds.
|
Sewer burst
are no longer common in the area. |
| Glen Norah |
Residents
have complained that the water leaves some brownish particles
if left to settle in a container. |
Water supplies
are regular in some areas while some get supplies for at least
four times a week. |
|
| Kuwadzana |
The water
has some brown particles. Cases of diarrhea have been reported
and some residents are now boiling the water before drinking. |
24 Hours
per day during the past few weeks. |
|
| Glen View
and Budiriro |
The water
is usually greenish in colour and residents have requested CHRA
to source water treatment tablets. Cases of diarrhea have been
on the increase since January 2010. |
The two
suburbs have been receiving water only during weekends for the
past two months. Some of the boreholes that were sunk in the
area are no longer working. |
Glen View
3 has been experiencing sewer bursts since the festive season.
Raw sewer has been flowing into household yards along 1st Drive
in Glen View 3. |
| Kambuzuma
and Rugare |
The water
quality is poor as it has visible brownish particles. Residents
usually boil the water before drinking. |
Residents
get supplies almost on a daily basis but this is only for a
few hours a day. |
Cases of
sewerage bursts have decreased since December 2009. |
Electricity
Areas like Glen Norah,
Glen View, Highfield and Budiriro usually experience power cuts
at least twice a week. However, there are times when residents in
these areas can experience power cuts at least three times within
a single day. Mbare, Dzivarasekwa and Avondale West is experiencing
power cuts on a daily basis while areas like Msasa Park, Cranborne,
Hatfield and Queensdale get power cuts at least thrice a week. There
is an area in Mabvuku near Kamunhu Shopping Centre that has been
without electricity since October 2009. This has been due to a faulty
transformer that has not been fixed in spite of the numerous requests
by residents to ZEDC to fix the transformer. However, ZEDC has been
serving residents with exorbitant electricity bills despite the
fact that supplies are highly limited.
Residents have complained
that ZEDC's load shedding is not uniform and this has resulted
in residents losing their electric appliances to short circuits
that are caused by sudden power cuts. Residents have, in the past
raised these concerns with ZEDC but the power utility has not done
anything to rectify the problem. ZEDC once came up with a load shedding
schedule that was flighted in the print media but the schedule was
never adhered to.
Refuse collection
The City of Harare is
still failing to collect refuse in most suburbs around the city
and this has resulted in the increased mushrooming of informal dumping
sites. Areas like Mupedzanhamo in Mbare have become an eyesore and
health time bomb due to the piles of uncollected refuse that have
become breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes.
Conclusion
CHRA encourages the City
of Harare and the Government to look into the issues of waste management
and water provision in Harare as a matter of urgency. There is a
need to come up with sustainable systems of waste management and
water provision so as to curb the persistent problem of diarrheal
disease outbreaks in the city. CHRA remains committed to advocating
for good and transparent local governance as well as lobbying for
quality municipal services.
Visit the CHRA
fact
sheet
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