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Emerging alternative institutional forms for managing domestic water in Harare
Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa, Kubatana.net
October 22, 2010

Millennium Development Goal number seven aims to reduce by half the population without access to sustainable drinking water. It is estimated that Sub-Saharan Africa will achieve sustainable access to drinking water by 2040, and access to adequate sanitation by 2076.

The delivery of water and sanitation services in Zimbabwe has been contentious one since the creation of ZINWA and the subsequent decline in service delivery by City of Harare.

In 2008, approximately 39% of urban residents had access to piped water, as compared to 50% in the late 1990s. It may be assumed that the percentage of the urban population with access to clean water is now even lower. Factors that have contributed to this decline include the disastrous economic policies of the past decade and governance issues which have resulted in mismanagement of water resources. In recent years these problems have been exacerbated by a skills shortage in the water and sanitation services.

The shortage of water in Harare has forced residents to find alternative means to meet their domestic water requirements. International standards recommend a minimum usage of 40 litres per person per day. In Zimbabwe, with about a quarter of the population affected by water shortages, usage is as low as 5 litres a day.

With this in mind, Dr. E Manzungu of the University of Zimbabwe applied for and won a research grant from the UNESCO-IHE global Partnership for Water Education and Research for the purpose of conducting a research study.

The study's objective is to find out how households of different socio-economic backgrounds, as individuals and a collective:

• Cope with or adapt to water shortage;
• To what extent do their efforts meet household and community water needs;
• The impact of these alternatives on household water and health security; and
• Whether the emerging alternative arrangements for domestic water and sanitation provision are sustainable

85% of this study will be conducted in Harare, Zimbabwe, with 15% being conducted in South Africa by Dr. Lewis Jonker of the University of the Western Cape. It is hoped that the data will be useful for comparing citizen responses to the water crisis in these two different contexts.

This study is part of many efforts to improve water supply in urban areas in Zimbabwe and Africa. The project rationale being that if local initiatives are sustainable, then it may be possible for policy makers to apply these in addressing water shortages.

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