ZINWA cuts Darwendale water over police and army debt

via ZINWA cuts Darwendale water over police and army debt | SW Radio Africa 12 December 2013 by Alex Bell

ZINWA has cut off water supplies to Darwendale

The national water authority, ZINWA continues to face anger from Zimbabweans this week, after residents in Darwendale have been left without running water for five days.

ZINWA authorities have confirmed that water supply has been cut off in Darwendale. Takudza Makwangudze, a catchment manager with the authority, was quoted by local media on Thursday as saying that the cuts were due to water chemical shortages.

“It is not a disconnection as such, but we cannot pump raw water to the residents because we have a shortage of chemicals,” said Makwangudze.

He reportedly added: “We are facing challenges in procuring chemicals for the water on time and this is because of poor cash flow. People are not paying bills and the major debtors are government departments. They are the ones who owe us a lot, and since the scrapping of bills some residents do not pay and have since accumulated again.”

But the NewsDay newspaper reported that the main bill defaulters in Darwendale are the defence ministry (which owes over $167,000) and the police force (which owes over $32,000). According to the newspaper local residents only owe the authority $3,183.

ZINWA has been in the news headlines several times this week, with a growing number of water cuts being reported. This includes Marondera, where supplies have been stopped at the local prison since December 4th over non-payment of bills.

ZANU PF’s vote-buying directive earlier this year to scrap utility debts has caused chaos, with many residents in urban areas still not paying their bills. Councils have said they have been forced into massive debt as a result and cannot pay their own bills.