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Water barometer - Issue 3
Harare Residents' Trust (HRT)
October 08, 2012

Comment: Final Demand issuance to Residents not the Solution to the Water Crisis!

The Harare Residents Trust (HRT) has been receiving shocking reports of at least 50 residents' cases a day that have been issued with letters of final demands and summons from the City of Harare. This development has come amid revelations that the city fathers are in a drive to recover the outstanding debt from the residents since 2009, in order to pay huge bonuses and allowances to their employees, and not to improve service provision. However during the period 2009 to 2010 the Harare City Council was using estimates to bill the residents, resulting in the accumulation of the huge debts based upon speculation and not factual information. The HRT therefore calls for the cancellation of debts from the residents from the period 2009 to 2010 since this was characterised but an unfair billing system which did not reflect how much the household had consumed for the period under review.

The residents who have been seriously affected by this challenge are mostly living in the high density suburbs like Rugare, Mufakose, Kambuzuma, Crowborough, Highfield, Glen Norah, Glen View, and Kuwadzana among other suburbs. The debt that is being demanded by the Harare City Council from the residents ranges from just above US$250 to several thousands of dollars. Inasmuch as the HRT appreciates that residents have an obligation to pay for the public services that are provided by the council, it should be reiterated here that 'as long the city management refuse to incentivise rates payment, and reject pleas or demands for debt cancellation, poor revenue collection will persist without a solution in sight. Debt cancellation encourages more people to settle their accurate bills while confrontation creates disharmony, and therefore reluctance to settle unjustified and illegal bills. Debt cancellation is the best alternative available because it creates a win - win situation between the city fathers and the residents. This is a practical approach to debt recovery which will certainly yield meaningful progress in as far as water provision is concerned. As the HRT we demand a genuine, accountable and responsive leadership on service delivery issues who have a passion for improving the livelihoods of the residents of Harare and not seeking profiteering and personal enrichment. It should be recalled that before the introduction of the multi - currency regime the residents of Harare were paying their bills, actually in advance given the economic challenges. It is only when the multi-currency regime was introduced that most residents started failing to settle their bills. And these residents, like the City of Harare are still in shock, following this economic nightmare. Funds were just wiped off bank accounts, leaving everyone is a state of destitution. This implies that the residents are failing to pay for the debt not because they do not want to pay BUT they do not have the economic capacity to pay for the debt.

Against a backdrop of poor resource base, high unemployment rate and souring poverty levels, residents have been subjected to extremely difficult circumstances and their ability to pay for public services is greatly distressed. The HRT therefore calls for the city fathers to come up with comprehensive and practical strategies to engage residents choked by high outstanding debts against a collapsed water service delivery system in order to come up with a workable solution where debt cancellation is a viable pre-condition. Issuing of summons and letters of final demand will not meaningfully address the recovery of money by the Harare City Council from residents. Instead, these will worsen the situation and further expose residents to liars and criminal groupings that claim they are working in collusion with some council employees to write-off debt, and force them to part with their US$20. It will worsen the ordinary residents' powerlessness and diminish economic and social capacities.

Below is a snapshot of the state of water provision in various suburbs in Harare:

Glen View 1, 2, 3 and 8: Water has been consistently supplied with normal pressure. The quality has improved. No visible particles seen in the water for about 4 days now. In Glen View 4 pressure is low during the day but at 10pm the pressure increases.

Glen Norah B: Last week water was available from 8am - 10am from 5pm to 10pm but as from 02/10/12, water was available from 10am. Residents are fetching water from boreholes, which are more trusted.

Specimen: Water was available the whole of last week up to date, only bills are very high. Residents prefer borehole water.

Chitubu: Water is available from 8pm to 6am and trickles during the day, sometimes it is dirty. Bills are high in this area.

Highfield Western Triangle: Water supply was inconsistent from 12 midday to 5am in the morning. Residents fetch water from shallow wells for toilets flushing, washing and bathing. Final demands have been served to residents.

Geneva: In Geneva most houses do not have water from taps and at times the pipes are blocked and City Council is not fixing them. Most people queue up every day at another resident's house to fetch water because her tap is not broken and everyday there is tap water. These affected residents still have to pay their water bills and they owe the city council huge amounts in unpaid bills. There are no boreholes in the area.

Lusaka, Egypt and Jerusalem: Water is available but low pressure up to 10am. Bills are high and Final Demands from Harare City Council have been served to residents. In the Short Line areas the pipes do not have water from 2006 up to date. The area has no boreholes. Residents have illegally connected water to the underground pipes so that they get water from 132nd Crescent. Water is available everyday but pressure is low. In Jerusalem, Water is available everyday but bills are high and most residents owe the City Council a lot of money.

New Canaan and Engineering: There is no water from taps because most pipes are blocked. Residents fetch water from pipes that they have connected illegally to the main pipes. City Council has not taken any action for almost 5 years. In the Engineering area, water is available from 6am - 8pm, but when it's available during the day the pressure is low while on high ground it trickles. Final demands were served to most residents in the area.

Budiriro 3: Water has not been available in the evenings from 8pm - 5am but is dirty and pressure is low on high ground. Final Demands have been served to most residents.

Budiriro 1, 2, 4, 5: There is no water during the day from 10pm - 5am. People are fetching water from boreholes. Bills remain high. In Budiriro 4, there is no water during the day but from 10pm - 5am. Water is available with normal pressure. Bills are extremely high. In Budiriro 5 no water supplies during the day but available from 10pm- 5am, water is available with poor quality and bills are high. Right now in Budiriro there is no water since Monday. The Harare Water Distribution Engineer concurred with the residents and promised that the problem will be rectified by end of day 4 October 2012. The situation remains risky.

Mufakose ward 34, 35 and 36: Water has been available consistently in the area. Some old aged people in the area of ward 36 pay a fixed amount of $23 every month which they afford. The majority of residents are struggling to pay and have been served final demands.

Sunningdale: Some parts of Sunningdale do not have tap water for close to two years. Water pipes are always bursting. There are five boreholes in the area, and only three are functional. The water is always dirty.

Waterfalls, Uplands, Mainway Meadows, Shortson, and Derbyshire: Water supplies are erratic. Most residents went for the past fortnight without running water. Most residents rely on wells at their households. The boreholes at Uplands Shopping Centre are not working. Areas like Prospect, Parktown, and Cheviot receive water during the night between 9am and 4am.

Ardbennie and Mbare: Water has been erratic for the past two weeks, especially from 21 to 23rd of September 2012. Most parts of Mbare water supplies are consistent. Mbare National along Runyararo, Ruredzo and Mbare Beatrice Cottages they fetch water from the opening space along St George's Street.

Borrowdale and Mt Pleasant: Water supplies are erratic in the community as residents receive water during the night. Residents are desperately in need of this precious liquid as some have gone for years without it. Some residents buy 5000 litres for us$50.00-$60.00 and this makes residents reluctant to pay rates to Harare City Council.

Glen Lorne, Umwinsdale and Manyonga Rivers: Clinics have no water and there is uneven distribution of water in these areas. Burst pipes that Council is failing to repair are a cause for concern. Residents have complained of unfair water billing as they claim that they are paying for air pressure that comes out of taps and not water. Residents interviewed in this area demanded that Harare City Council should ensure that all the money which is collected from water services should be directly ploughed back to improve the water services and distribution network.

Kuwadzana, Dzivaresekwa and Warren Park - Last week areas like Kuwadzana and Dzivarasekwa experienced water shortages for four days. Kuwadzana Extension had no water from Friday 21 September to 23 September 2012. In Warren Park, some houses in 31st Crescent had no water from 19 September to 28 September 2012.

Kambuzuma and Rugare: These areas had no water for the whole week. The residents have resorted to the use of shallow wells and boreholes. But at times the boreholes are overwhelmed by the residents.

Visit the Harare Residents' Trust fact sheet

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