THE recent admission by the Harare City Council and Helcraw Water of billing problems affecting prepaid water meters has triggered fresh questions, with residents demanding compensation for losses they say they have suffered.
The smart water meters were rolled out in selected Harare suburbs from around March 2026, but have faced growing criticism over inconsistencies in billing and water consumption readings.
While some residents have welcomed the prepaid system as an efficient way of paying only for the water they use, others have raised concerns over unexplained and seemingly excessive charges.
One Harare resident said she purchased water worth US$40 but exhausted her allocation in less than a week, despite using it sparingly.
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"I bought water worth US$40,00 and we couldn't go for a week accessing the water. This despite the fact that we were using the water sparingly. The situation has left us with no choice except to abandon prepaid water purchases in favour of bulk water deliveries.
"So surprising when we purchase bulk water and fill up a 5000-litre tank, we are able to go for two months but about 16 000 litres of prepaid water won't last us three weeks," the resident said anonymously.
Similar complaints have been raised across the city, prompting the Harare City Council and its partner, Helcraw Limited, to issue a joint statement addressing the billing challenges.
According to the two entities, "abnormal hydraulic conditions", including trapped air caused by pipeline bursts or repairs, can result in meters recording consumption and charging residents for air flow even when no water is running.
The explanation has, however, opened a fresh debate among residents, who are demanding greater transparency and intervention from the authorities.
"Already we are struggling with opaque water charges, which all call for detailed investigations into how these prepaid water meters are really working.
"To date, how much could have been lost by residents through hot air readings? What is the local authority doing to protect residents from paying for nothing?" asked Felistus Chinake of Hatcliffe.
The concerns have prompted calls for residents who may have been overcharged to be reimbursed.
Contacted for comment, Harare City Council spokesperson Stanley Gama dismissed allegations that residents were being unfairly billed as a result of the technical challenges affecting the prepaid meters.
"There is no shortchanging of residents at all. Residents facing technical challenges are free to approach the local authority for a technical solution," he said.
Asked why the admission by Helcraw and the City of Harare had only come almost four months after the rollout of the prepaid meters, potentially exposing more residents to unjustified charges, Gama did not provide a direct solution to the concerns, but insisted that council was ready to resolve reported problems.
On whether a proper pilot programme involving multiple stakeholders had been conducted before the rollout to identify potential problems, Gama said all necessary procedures had been followed.
"Helcraw passed the implementing stage. They have had success in areas such as Guruve, Karoi and Gokwe and in Harare so far. The systems are efficient. We are working towards rectifying faults in identified areas," he said.
However, Harare Metropolitan Residents Forum chairperson Marvelous Kumalo said residents were justified in demanding compensation.
"A pilot project was supposed to have been done to ascertain the feasibility of this project before roll-out. As residents associations (RAs) and other stakeholders in the city, we called for a pilot project, stakeholder involvement and a report on the pilot project.
"We also called for the revamping and upgrading of the entire water infrastructure before the massive installation of these prepaid water meters, but our requests fell on deaf ears. Here we are today; there is limited water availability to ensure the optimal functioning of these meters," he said.
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Kumalo also accused the local authority of promoting what he described as manufactured consent through videos featuring residents who appeared to welcome the prepaid water meters.
He said the experiences being reported by residents had since undermined those claims.
Kumalo said the parties involved in the rollout should be held accountable and compensate residents for any losses arising from the system's shortcomings.
He argued that the complaints emerging from across Harare pointed to what he described as a rushed, ill-advised and profit-driven approach being implemented at the expense of access to quality, reliable and safe potable water.
