Back to Index

Service delivery update – October 20 – 19 November 2013
Harare Residents' Trust (HRT)
November 21, 2013

Introduction

The Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) produces a fortnightly service delivery update, which gives you an insight into service delivery challenges, experiences, and makes recommendations on how to improve service provision by our policymakers and service providers. In pursuit of this, the HRT team follows up on all cases recorded and includes the feedback in the next issue of the Serviced Delivery Update, as part of our monitoring and evaluation of our impact.

Findings from the Previous Report: The organisation made a follow-up on all service delivery update cases recorded. The following are the findings from the service providers:

Suburban Water situation

The HRT engaged Harare Water and confirmed that they had a shutdown from the 15th of November up to the 16th of November as they were doing maintenance works at Morton Jaffrey Water Works.

Refuse collection

The HRT received a consolidated Refuse Collection Schedule from the Amenities Department on 16 November 2013 for wider circulation to HRT membership. The HRT is also going to post the schedule on its Facebook page. Other copies will be made available to HRT members at community level.

Electricity Supply

The load shedding schedule cannot be availed to residents and cannot be followed anymore as some thieves were said to be capitalising on the power cuts to steal from the residents as reviewed by the ZESA Public Relations Department.

Water Supplies

- Letombo Park - Residents in Letombo are receiving water twice a week but on different days, making it difficult to follow the pattern of supply.

- Greendale - Greendale receives water three times a week, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

- Eastlea - The suburb is now receiving low pressure water. On average they are receiving water two-three times a week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Highlands - Water is consistently supplied in low lying areas. Water trickles in the areas along Wingate Road. It is reported that there is a burst water pipe at Highlands Police Station along Glenroy Road

Msasa Park- Council water is rarely supplied. The residents reported that for approximately four to five years the situation has been the same, yet they continue to be charged fixed water charges.

Borrowdale/Glen Lorne - Municipal water was only available to residents on 27 October 2013 and on 12 November 2013. The residents survive on purchasing water for domestic use. However residents are complaining that their lives are at risk from waterborne diseases as the water that they are purchasing is turning green after two days of purchase.

Hatfield - No municipal tap water is being supplied. Residents survive on water from neighbour’s wells. The residents added that it costs US$60 to test water from government’s laboratories, a huge expense they cannot afford.

Dzivarasekwa (Tashinga) - do not receive water but a few and selected houses experience a trickle during the night.

Glen View 1 - Water is available and is being supplied with pressure from 10pm up to 5am but during the day supplies have low pressure.

Glen View 3 - From 46th Crescent water is available but with low pressure during the day. Higher ground areas from 10th Street water supplies are erratic.

Glen View 8 - Water is available from 6am to 10pm with high pressure but during the day pressure is very low and in high ground areas supplies are erratic.

i. Budiriro 1- only the area around the clinic and the shopping centre are supplied with water everyday but the area opposite the Shopping Centre rarely get council water.

Glen Norah A Specimen - water is being supplied during odd hours that is from 10pm up to 5 am

Glen Norah B - Residents around Mushayabhande are being served with water consistently

Mufakose Ward 35 - Water is now being supplied on daily basis.

Chitungwiza - Water is supplied two times a week on Mondays and Tuesdays only. Chitungwiza Municipality receives water from Harare City Council and then sells it to residents. But the residents are failing to pay for water consumption, thereby making Chitungwiza Municipality to fail to remit water revenue to the Harare Municipality.

Old Tafara - Supply is being provided every Sunday but for the rest of the week there is no water supply.

Highfield Geneva - Geneva Flats do not receive council water at all. The meters are not working. However, every month the residents are served with estimate Council bills ranging from US$45-US$50.

Refuse collection

a. Letombo Park - Every Wednesday refuse is collected to and the Council has in the last week collected refuse.

b. Greendale - Consistently collected on Thursdays

c. Eastlea - refuse is being collected every Wednesday.

d. Highlands - Refuse is being attended to after every fortnight.

e. Msasa Park - refuse is being collected every Monday and Tuesday.

f. Borrowdale/ Glen Lorne - Refuse near the Bond Shopping Centre is collected every Tuesday and in residential areas on Wednesday.

g. Hatfield - the residents were complaining that though refuse is being attended to; there has been a problem on the disposal of pampers.

h. Dzivarasekwa - refuse is being collected every Wednesday.

i. Glenview 1 - Historical dumpsites are still visible at the shopping Centre and street corners but refuse is being collected every Wednesday.

j. Glenview 3 - Thursday is the collection day. Historical dumpsites are still visible at the shopping Centre and street corners.

k. Glenview 8 - Consistently collected on Thursdays.

l. Budiriro 1 - Collection has been scheduled for every Wednesday but this is being done inconsistently. A skip bin at the Shopping Centre is always full.

m. Glen Norah A Specimen - Collection has not been consistent during the reporting period such that refuse was collected only two times a week. Collection is scheduled for Tuesday.

n. Glen Norah B - Refuse collection is every Monday and this has been adhered to.

o. Mufakose Ward 35 - Collection is scheduled for Wednesday every week and this has been adhered to.

p. Chitungwiza St Mary’s - Refuse is not being collected, though efforts were made to do a cleanup campaign together with the Town Clerk on 1 November 2013. Refuse heaps were not cleared.

q. Old Tafara - Refuse collection is scheduled for Tuesday and this is being followed. However, there is a challenge reported that the refuse collectors are always speeding and are leaving behind refuse which is then dumped at the Shopping centre near the bus terminus.

r. Highfield Geneva - It is reported that shop owners at Gazaland are dumping refuse along Willowvale Road

Power Supplies

Letombo Park - load shedding is usually twice a week with power being cut for not more than 6 hours a day.

Greendale - limited power outages, going for more than six days at times without experiencing load shedding.

Eastlea - electricity supply has improved with power cuts experienced at least two days a week and usually on Fridays.

Highlands - In the first week of November power supply was very erratic

Mufakose ward 35 - Load shedding has since improved from nine hours a day to averagely three to four hours a day.

Glen Norah A-Specimen - load shedding in Specimen residents go for 6(six) hours a day, the load shedding is not predictable putting residents appliances at risk.

Glenview 8 - Load shedding is not fixed but hours for power cuts have been reduced to four hours.

Glen Norah B - Power supplies are erratic, there is no fixed load shedding timetable putting residents appliances at risk.

Highfield-Geneva - Load shedding is usually six to eight hours a day

Old Tafara - load shedding is four to five hours a day

Chitungwiza St Mary’s - Every week electricity is cut for five to six hours a day

Budiriro 1 - load shedding hours are not predictable ranging from five to nine hours a day.

Msasa Park - Their load shedding is unpredictable, damaging their electrical appliances.

Hatfield - load shedding is four to five hours a day at times two times a week and at times four times a week.

Dzivarasekwa - Power supplies are cut off for five to six hours a day.

Glenview 3 - Load shedding is not fixed but hours for power cuts have been reduced to four hours.

Glenview 1 - Load shedding is not fixed but now the residents are going not for more than six hours a day.

Borrowdale/Glen Lorne - Load shedding is five to six hours a day. Power cuts of 15 to 20 minutes intervals were being experienced especially in the first week of November making it difficult to ascertain whether the load shedding was genuine or there was a fault somewhere.

City Budget Advertised

In terms of the section 219 of the Urban Councils’ Act (Chapter 29:15), the 2014 City of Harare Budget was adopted by a full council on 8 November, was advertised for the first time on 11 November and secondly on 18 November 2013. This means that residents have up to 8 December to raise objections and make comments on the proposed City budget before it is submitted to the minister for approval. Residents wishing to raise their objections have to first go and peruse through the whole income and expenditure budget, which should be available at all District Offices in your community. All letters of objection should be directed to the Town Clerk, handwritten or type written, specifying physical address of resident and then outline areas of objection and making recommendations. It is your right. Use it!

Visit the Harare Residents' Trust fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP