Source: Harare targets improved water delivery under new partnership – herald
Diana Nherera
Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume says the City of Harare has entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at improving water production and addressing persistent shortages affecting residents across the capital.
Cllr Mafume was responding to concerns raised by councillors over prolonged water outages in several suburbs, including Mainway Meadows in Waterfalls and Ward 16 during a full council meeting at Town House on Thursday.
Ward 23 councillor Manyenga had raised concern that some areas in Mainway Meadows had gone for months without water despite having water meters installed. He requested temporary relief measures for affected residents.
Responding to the concerns, Cllr Mafume said the installation of water meters formed part of a broader strategy to make the water supply project financially sustainable and attractive to investors.
“We started by installing water meters to make the project bankable because the investor is also putting money into repairing damaged pipes, rehabilitating pumps and refurbishing Morton Jaffray Water Works, which is our major source of water,” he said.
Cllr Mafume revealed that the council had begun testing pumps drawing water from Lake Manyame to increase raw water supplies into Lake Chivero.
“Currently, they are testing the pumps from Manyame. We are now going to pump water from Lake Manyame into Lake Chivero, which will increase supplies because that process had been inactive or inconsistent for some time,” he said.
“For nearly five years, we have not been receiving water consistently from Lake Manyame. In the coming weeks, we expect to commission the pumps so that water from Lake Manyame can be mixed with water from Lake Chivero, giving us increased supplies.”
He said the council was also working to secure reliable supplies of treatment chemicals, including chlorine, to ensure uninterrupted water production.
“The arrangement with the investor was that council would install water meters so that when water production increases, revenue collection also improves and the investor can recover its funds,” said Cllr Mafume.
“That is why we are accelerating the installation of water meters. If we can reach 100 000 metered properties now and 200 000 by next year, out of the city’s 322 000 billable properties, we will be able to improve revenue collection and sustain water production.”
The mayor also urged Ward 23 Councillor Manyenga to engage the acting head of water Engineer Tapiwa Kunyadini to urgently attend to the affected areas.
Cllr Mafume said there was also a need for the council to purchase JoJo tanks for use as mobile water bowsers to assist communities facing prolonged water shortages.
He further stressed the importance of increasing the number of pipe repair teams to minimise water losses caused by burst pipes and leakages.
The discussion followed concerns raised by Ward 16 councillor Denford Ngadziore, who said about 90 percent of his ward had gone without water for nearly one and a half months and was experiencing at least eight major pipe bursts.
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