Perennial water shortages bedevilling Harare are worsening with each passing day without a solution in sight while councillors are deeply embroiled in corruption.
Residents are being short-changed as they are paying monthly water rates without getting the services.
Acute water shortages have been experienced over the past week, raising fears of a potential serious health hazard. Among the suburbs most hit are Warren Park, Glen Norah ward 27, Mabvuku, Kuwadzana, Kambuzuma ward 14, parts of Avondale, Glaudina and Mbare.
Harare Residents Trust director Mr Precious Shumba bemoaned the situation.
"The widespread water shortages are a major concern to us. Residents are spending long periods at community boreholes. It has been reported in some communities like Dzivarasekwa Extension, Glen Norah and Glaudina that some of the community boreholes and shallow wells are drying up and people have to travel across the suburbs in search of water," he said.
Mr Shumba said Harare City Council recently announced that they had overcome the cholera threat however, with the recurrent water shortages, its return among other water-borne diseases, is expected.
A resident of Glen Norah C Extension, Mrs Angelica Shamu, said the taps have been dry for the past week.
"We had no water for the past five days and the council is just silent. People are now engaging in open defecation which poses a serious health threat in our area," she said.
Along Ceres Road in Avondale, there has been no water for over a month.
A Warren Park resident Mr Mike Mugombeyi said it was worrying that the council was billing them for non-delivered services.
"Our water bills are always estimated. It is unfair on us to pay for unrendered services," he said.
Executive director of Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) Itai Rusike said the concern is that the water crisis has gone for too long.
"The implications have been telling in the old age diseases that have resurfaced: cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, skin diseases and pneumonia, among other preventable health challenges.
"Other challenges have been reported of women facing abuse when they have to use the bush at night ," he said.
Mr Rusike said during the dry, hot season, water must be made available for personal dignity, meals, and hydration among other things.
"According to the sphere standards, a person needs 30 litres of water per day, and when the need increases as in the case of illness, especially diarrhoea, the need goes up to 50 litres to 60 litres. It creates a vicious cycle where there is a water shortage," he said.
Acting town clerk Engineer Mabhena Phakamile Moyo said they have reduced production due to the closure of Prince Edward waterworks after Seke and Harava Dams dried up.
"We don't have enough water in the dams. Asking Zinwa to release water from upstream dams," he said.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said they are working on making sure that they accelerate the issue of water treatment chemicals.
"We are talking to our supplier, our main supplier is Chemplex and we have ensured that they get a bit of funding. We are working towards clearing the debt with the assistance of the Government.
"We paid US$500 000 during the SADC summit, and we are hoping to pay US$2,5 million from the Government as well to Chemplex," he said.
Mayor Mafume also said they do have a 24-month supply of raw water but want to get to an abstraction rate of 560 megalitres per day which requires some work to be done on Morton Jaffray Water Works.
"Some of the pumps, the filters, need to be constantly repaired. Then we need to install pumps that draw water from the tunnel that links Lake Manyame at an increased rate. We have, accordingly paid the divers, who have billed us US$89 000, to do the work of blocking the water and then installing the first pump.
"There should be four pumps that need to be installed in total. The work of installing this pump should take us the whole of September. And after that, we then expect the water to increase, the water that we deliver to the residents," he said.
Ironically, the US$144 million Chinese loan facility to upgrade the Morton Jaffray Water Works was misused by council amid revelations that US$37 million went to administrative costs while US$55 million was allocated for water treatment at Morton Jaffray Water Works.
The US$37 million spent by Harare included US$29,1 million for project designs, management and administration as well as US$8 million for vehicles.
Council bought top-of-the-range cars for their bosses including the town clerk and the senior engineer who were already entitled to council vehicles which they had.
A lawyer Mr Norman Kambarami blamed the water crisis on council mismanagement.
"Service providers without the capacity to deliver are paid large sums of money and supported to receive more without proof of their ability to deliver ahead of those with the technical expertise and capacity. This leads to misuse of public funds with workshops taking centre stage enabling personal benefit over the greater good of the general public," he said.
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"There is a need for a mindset shift or better a complete overhaul of the technical staff at Harare City Council to ensure they know what they are supposed to do," he said.
An analyst Dr Tongai Dana said to address the deep-rooted corruption at the council, there was a need to immediately replace incompetent and corrupt officials.
He called for the establishment of a temporary commission to oversee operations until a clean, competent administration is in place.
"Corruption in local authorities is detrimental to effective service delivery and national development. It diverts resources meant for public services, erodes public trust, and hinders economic growth by fostering inefficiency and inequality.
"For Harare, the continuation of corrupt practices would further deteriorate infrastructure, reduce investor confidence, and exacerbate social inequalities, ultimately undermining Zimbabwe's broader developmental goals," Dr Dana said.
He said decisive action against corruption was not just necessary but imperative for sustainable urban and national development.
