Online Reporter
LOCAL company Helcraw, in partnership with Chinese firm Hangzhou Laison Technology, is installing prepaid water meters in Harare – a development set to ease the capital city’s perennial water challenges. In addition to the meters, work is also underway to overhaul the entire water piping system across Harare to improve the supply of potable water to long-suffering residents. The Zimpapers Politics Hub’s Kuda Bwititi (KB) spoke to Helcraw managing director Mr Brendon Jere (BJ)to get an insight on the work done so far.
KB: To start, could you tell us about the overall scope of the project?
A: This project has quite a huge scope. Apparently, when we started, it was very small. And then we started having what is called a moving scope. We said, why can’t we do more? And, a lot of other things are also happening.
We want to increase the capacity of Morton Jaffray. I know the narrative from the nature of the project was that we were talking more about the smart water meters, but it is not just about the meters. They are just part of what we are doing. But of course, for a better narration for people to understand, we speak of the prepaid water meters. But that’s not all we are doing.
We are increasing the capacity at Morton Jaffray from the current 300 mega litres per day (MLD) to 520 MLD. As of last week, we increased the capacity by 4 MLD just by replacing the pipes at the pumping station.
KB: Tell us about the other developments happening at Morton Jaffray.
BJ: Things are moving smoothly. We are going to increase capacity. We are going to work on the filter beds. A lot of work is being done there.
This scope also includes making sure that we bring in water from Darwendale Dam to dilute the dirty water coming from Manyame.
KB: Tell us more about bringing water from Darwendale. Have you started the process?
BJ: The water, which is currently being treated, which requires the use of nine chemicals, is coming from Manyame. It is very dirty. The water from Darwendale will then be mixed with that coming from Manyame to improve its quality. We will still use chemicals, but fewer than before.
All this came later into the scope. Initially, we thought what we were doing was just to increase the capacity – just to install the prepaid water meters.
Then we moved forward and said we need a wholesome solution whereby we also attend to the source, where the water is coming from.
Then from there, we realised that over some time, the water which was coming from Morton Jaffray was clean and it was actually being treated to the required standards. But people were complaining about dirty water. The problem was not where the water was coming from, but the conveyancing system was very old. The old steel pipes were the real problem.
We then sat down and said, let’s increase the scope and replace them. This is what is happening now at Morton Jaffray and other parts of Harare where replacement of pipes is in progress.
KB: The problem of old pipes almost affects the whole of Harare. How many of these pipes have you targeted to replace?
BJ: We had to do it in a systematic way. Our approach was to start with about 500km of pipes where water was gushing out. I think we were seeing a lot of water in the streets and saying, “But our people are not getting water – look at all this water going to waste.”
That was the first phase of the project: to replace about 520km of pipes, which is what we are doing right now. But the entire project will entail the replacement of 6 500km of pipes – which means the entire array.
KB: When do you hope to complete the replacement of pipes?
BJ: We are going to replace the old pipes, the steel pipes which are subject to corrosion, with PVC pipes. This is going to be a five-year project that we are doing in phases. The first phase will be cover 500km, and we continue with the second phase next year.
KB: Which areas have benefited in Harare so far?
BJ: We are first targeting areas that had severe pipe challenges. So, to date, most of the work has been done in Warren Park, Westlea, Southerton, Willowvale, Avondale and Hillside. This is where we have the bulk of the 43 000 meters.
KB: You have spoken of water leakages. Please tell us more about this and how you are addressing it.
BJ: The City of Harare was losing 60 percent of their revenue through what is called non-revenue water. Only 40 percent of the 300 MLD being pumped reached our residents. So you can imagine the loss. Sixty percent was being lost along the way. So the bigger part of our scope completely changed to say, no, let’s replace the pipes so that all this water reaches our residents.
Of course, in terms of quantum, we cannot say 60 percent was not reaching residents – part of it was also due to non-payment, which is another problem of non-revenue water. Non-revenue water comes from physical losses or non-payment. Also, water was being stolen along the way. People were receiving water, but they were not paying their bills. That is what actually made up the 60 percent of non-revenue water.
Meanwhile, we need the chemicals. So we went further and said in conjunction with our partners from China, we need to help the City of Harare to come up with a digital billing system.
KB: How is the digital billing system, working. Have you encountered any challenges?
BJ: It has been a tremendous success. The system is also giving our residents the advantage of managing their consumption. We are now having responsible use of water.
Previously, there was irresponsible consumption – besides the gushing out, one could lift pipes and water gardens because they knew they were not going to pay for it or and not going to be cut off.
KB: Have there not been complaints from residents who have been cut-off?
BJ: Water is a precious product which you can hold back from anyone – it’s unacceptable. We also have our cultural values. Have water is a right.
But these are the issues we started addressing – this is now the scope we are seeing. We are not putting meters where there’s no water. The strategy was to put meters where there is water. A lot of residents didn’t know that there were people who were receiving water every day and not paying their bills.
But to some extent, there is also a positive link between receiving water and payment of levies. Some areas receiving water have 80 percent payment rates. And those areas which were not receiving water at all had levies down to around 40 percent.
So we realised there is a positive correlation between receiving water and payment of bills.
Now, everyone is going to pay their bills. Everyone is going to play ball. And already the results are there on the ground for people to see.
KB: So in terms of costs, since the scope of the project is going bigger now, what is the total budget for the whole project?
BJ: We are not looking at something less than US$1,5 billion when everything is complete. That is the cost of this project, to make sure the pipes are put and everything, including the cost of capital, because this project is being funded by debt.
KB: In terms of prepaid meters, how many have you installed up to now?
A: We have installed 43 000 so far. By the end of this month, we will complete 60 000. And we still have another 40 000 on the way, near the Beira port. Another 40 000 have already been shipped – arriving May 1 or thereabouts. So, between the end of April and the end of August, we would have installed 120 000 meters.
KB: Some may be worried about the durability of this project. For how long are the pipes going to last?
BJ: Our partner that is supplying us with the pipes and prepaid water metres is already working in other countries, providing the same service. We are confident of the quality because this is an internationally recognised company.
Recently, we had visitors from Botswana who came to assess the project and they were impressed.
It was a benchmarking visit and they want to do what we are doing here in their country. I can also say that these pipes have a guaranteed lifespan of between 50 to 100 years.
Our partner, Hangzhou Laison Technology, is renowned globally for its services. Also, outside Harare, we did a similar project in Karoi, Hwange and Gwanda, where there are about 15 000 prepaid water meters that are working smoothly without any challenges.
