Harare — Government has reviewed all new water tariffs downwards to make the levels affordable and instructed councils to stop charging unapproved rates and levies.

Local authorities have also been barred from cutting off water supplies and locking out residents to force them to pay outstanding water bills and rentals.

With immediate effect, charges for raw water for local authorities and mining sectors (urban, industrial and mining water) would be one US cent per cubic metre or five drums, while the levy would be half a US cent per cubic metre or per five drums.

Treated water from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority would cost 40 US cents per cubic metre or per five drums for the first 12 cubic metres while beyond the 12 cubic metres, punitive tariffs would apply in order to curb potential abuse of water.

The agricultural sector would now be paying US$5 per megalitre or 5 000 drums inclusive of levy for water from Zinwa.

This includes supply from dams, boreholes and river pumping by Zinwa.

On separate occasions yesterday, Local Government, Urban and Rural Development Minister Ignatius Chombo and the his Water Resources Development and Management counterpart Samuel Sipepa Nkomo declared that no disconnection would be allowed for now.

Minister Chombo held a meeting with local authorities yesterday afternoon where it emerged that all urban councils had failed to beat the February 24, 2009 deadline to submit their budgets for the Government's approval.

A number of local authorities, including Harare City Council, have started charging for services in foreign currency well before they have presented their foreign currency-denominated budgets to the full council and to Government for approval.

In separate presentations during a meeting with Minister Chombo, urban councils indicated the various stages at which their budgets were.

The councils presented problems faced in the reclamation of water and sewer management from Zinwa, which range from lack of transparency on equipment, workers, broken-down plants and a critical shortage of water treatment chemicals.

Minister Chombo said, as an interim measure, councils should charge half of their proposed rates and levies pending approval of their budgets.

He also advised them that their tariffs should be affordable to residents and ratepayers while their salary budgets should be kept between 28 and 32 percent of their total budgets.

"In the meantime, we will authorise you to charge 50 percent of what you are requesting to charge," said Minister Chombo.

He was addressing town clerks, mayors, councillors and senior council officials from across the country who had come to Harare for a follow-up meeting on the transfer of water management from Zinwa to councils.

Minister Chombo said residents of high-density suburbs should continue to pay their bills in local currency but did not specify what would happen to a town like Chitungwiza, which is predominantly high-density but also needs foreign currency to meet its obligations.

Minister Chombo said council budgets should clearly show the cost price of providing a service and the profit council intended to make.

On the issue of water transfer from Zinwa, he said local authorities should sign agreements with Zinwa showing that the takeover process was over.

In the absence of the signed paperwork, Zinwa would continue to manage water for that particular authority.

A number of local authorities that presented progress reports on the status of their budgets indicated that they were lagging behind and would only be able to submit them to Government next week.

Minister Chombo advised councillors against passing resolutions requiring funding when there were no resources.

Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the announcement of the Harare City Council 2009 budget amid city fathers' decision to give the nod to council to charge in foreign currency in the absence of a budget.

Earlier indications were that the budget would be finally presented yesterday, but new developments showed that the budget could be announced next Wednesday.

Council already charges in foreign currency for all its services and has started paying workers in United States dollars well before approval of the 2009 budget.

Home-owners in high-density suburbs are paying up to US$35 for supplementary charges that include refuse collection and other service charges.

Illegally parked vehicles are charged US$35 with the penalties increasing if the vehicle is towed away.

A booklet of parking discs with 10 pages, equivalent to 10 parking hours, costs US$10. Simply put, a city worker who decides to park on the street during working hours has to fork out US$8 for eight working hours.

The city's workers in lower grades have been paid amounts of up to US$290, which included wages and allowances.

Local Government, Urban and Rural Development Deputy Minister Sessel Zvidzai and Permanent Secretary Mr Killian Mupingo attended the meeting.

Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday afternoon, Minister Nkomo said the new charges were interim as the Government was in the process of conducting an in-depth water sector analysis.

"There is need for a proper stakeholder consultative process to take place. This shall be done in due course," said Minister Nkomo.

He said the downward review of water tariffs would make water affordable for every Zimbabwean and stimulate activity in both the industrial and agricultural sectors of the economy.

"Since water is so central to life and to national economic development, its pricing ought to reflect this fact.

"While it must not be priced beyond the reach of the users, the price must, however, be such that part of the production costs can be met," he said.

Minister Nkomo urged all the local authorities to ensure that all water supplied to the consumers was clean and safe to help combat the cholera outbreak.