Ending Harare’s water woes a pipe dream

timeframes for the construction of the Kunzvi Dam.
The dam has had as many as over a dozen false starts. Statements like “dam construction will begin in the first quarter or second quarter of the year” have become synonymous with the discourse of certain politicians past and present City Fathers.
On assuming office, mayors and ministers have vowed to achieve the construction of Kunzvi Dam and even made it the measure by which people should judge their performance. Suffice to say failure to achieve the goal has characterised their incumbency in office.
All hope has for now faded and in the way stands a dark cloud of uncertainty as residents and industry ponder the way forward without adequate water supplies against the backdrop of a well designed but seemingly “unachievable” Kunzvi water project.
Worries abound how the constructors of the dam would be able to raise the new cost of the dam which now stands at US$83,81 million up from the initial US$36 million. Women and children who have to wake up early in the morning to queue at open wells and boreholes bear the brunt of the water shortages.
For special interest councillor Tariro Chikumbirike the water problems are impacting negatively on women and girls “as they have to wake up as early as 1am to queue at boreholes”.
“For school-going girls their performance is likely to go down as they will be exhausted by the time they go to school,” she says.
Chikumbirike also says water shortages affect people living with HIV as drinking water from unprotected sources puts them at risk of opportunistic infections like diarrhoea.
“There is an urgent need to have the water situation addressed,” she said.
Since 1996 when the green light to construct the dam was given daring officials, Cabinet ministers included have even taken journalists on tours of the dam construction site promising good news.
Some of the stories have been timed to coincide with Cabinet day – presumably to give an impression that So and So Minister is working hard.
Follow-up press conferences have been conducted with journalists buying hook, line and sinker “the lies” about the dam’s construction and in the process helping to feed false hope into the millions of Harare Metropolitan province residents whose innocent lives depend on the officials’ capacity to provide uninterrupted water supplies.
As if the respective parties are not aware of what role they have to play to deliver water to Harare – the blame game has become the in- thing with Government ministers blaming city of Harare for failure to deliver water while the city officials run rings around the truth.
Both parties have managed to confuse the ratepayer. Residents are confused as to who should do what on Kunzvi Dam.
Government’s role is to construct Kunzvi Dam while the city has the duty to provide the water treatment plant and other ancillary services that bring water to the doorstep.
City officials argue that they cannot put the “cart before the horse” and blame Government for delaying dam construction.
Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda agrees the blame game would not help anyone in Harare but goes on to blame political parties of politicising water delivery.
“The blame game is certainly not good for anyone. The bottom line is that we have a mammoth task of providing potable water at an affordable rate to a hub of over four million people,” he said.
Mr Masunda said each party should play its role with Government providing the regulatory framework and an environment that will be conducive to the expeditious and cost-effective execution of the projects,” he said. Water demand in Harare stands at 1 200 megalitres a day but the city manages to provide half the amount implying that many residents are denied water; a commodity that Mr Masunda acknowledges is a basic human right. Bringing the Kunzvi and Musami projects online would add another 600 megalitres.
Mr Masunda also feels political parties scuttle efforts to deliver water.
“Political parties should refrain from politicising a key service delivery issue like the provision of potable water which incidentally is also a basic human right.
“In addition, politicians across the divide should avoid unnecessary rhetoric that could jeopardise the prospects of the City of Harare mobilising the indicative sums of US$450 and US$650 million for Kunzvi and Musami dams respectively,” he said.
The amounts by Mr Masunda refer to the construction of treatment works and ancillary services but when city officials speak they do so as if they have the mandate to construct the dam.
While Mr Masunda acknowledges that the blame game would not deliver water, he spares no opportunity to heap blame on the State. “As things stand, external financial institutions with a huge appetite for funding the type of capital projects under consideration are understandably reluctant to deal with out Government which has, for example, not been able to honour obligations to France US$400 million and Germany US$800 million,” he said.
On what measures the City of Harare should employ to ensure quick water delivery, Mr Masunda says efforts should be doubled to have audited accounts done to at least 2010 “to satisfy one of the critical lending criteria”.
He feels ratepayers should be updated regularly on water issues and be urged to settle their water bills.
Water Resources Development and Management Minister Sipepa Nkomo recently stated that the construction of the dam remains a top Government priority.
“I am pleased to let the nation know that of late through a public-private partnership initiative, resources have been mobilised to undertake the development of the Kunzvi Dam water project,” he said.
He set the April 2011 as the timeline for starting the dam construction. It is now eight months past starting schedule.
Minister Nkomo is of the belief that Chitungwiza, Ruwa, Epworth and Norton should all contribute to the construction of Kunzvi Dam.
Clr Charles Nyachowe supports the same idea and proposes that a water commission that oversees the management of water in the province should be put in place.
He feels that each year the respective local authorities should set aside funds directed to the commission for the purpose of managing water resources. Harare Water director Eng Christopher Zvobgo sees the city’s water solutions in a phased approach.
He says the city has to address the quick wins first which include the refurbishment of all the water treatment plants to draw maximum benefit.
This entails making the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant and the Prince Edward Water Treatment plant work at maximum production levels of 614 megalitres and 90 megalitres per day respectively.
The Odis Plant at Morton Jaffray that has capacity to produce 40 megalitres of recycled water should also be commissioned. The process also involves the rehabilitation of all sewer plants to capacitate them to treat sewer and help avoid the dislodging of raw sewer into river systems.
But with all the brilliant ideas what is stopping Eng Zvobgo and his team from implementing. Eng Zvobgo says the US$144 million loan from China that was budgeted for the works has not come yet.
“Funds available the tasks are achievable,” he says. He said solutions to Harare’s water problems include the plugging of all water bursts which account for 60 percent of water losses. He said up to 15 000 households in Harare have been enjoying free water because they were either not legally connected or were stealing water from the city mains.
Harare alone has 200 000 households connected to the city’s water reticulation excluding the 15 000. Kunzvi Dam falls under the medium- to long-term solutions for Eng Zvobgo. He differs with Minister Sipepa on the issue of having the same water source for Harare and surrounding towns of Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Norton.
He says Chitungwiza should build its own water source on Nyatsime River. The project is estimated to cost US$100 million while Ruwa should be supported to complete its water project that draws water from Nora Dam. Norton can use the Darwendale Dam to have its independent water source. This leaves Epworth reliant on Harare.
Clr Herbert Gomba suggested that City of Harare should commission Cleveland Dam to supply water to Mabvuku and Tafara. He also said the State should cede its rights in the Kunzvi Dam project to the city.
“Harare would then use the water rights to source funds to build the dam and then ring-fence the anticipated income to pay back,” he said. Most of the water solutions have been in existence for years but what seems to lack is the commitment to implement the solutions.