Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
BULAWAYO residents have increased their call for the city council to adopt prepaid water meters following exorbitant water bills that they continue to receive despite prolonged water-shedding schedules.
The residents have expressed frustration over unexplained high bills of US$40 to US$600 per month at a time when the city is experiencing extended periods of water scarcity and have questioned the efficacy of the council billing system.
The proposal for smart water meters gained traction following a recent impassioned plea by Bulawayo Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, who underscored the urgency of addressing the persistent challenges plaguing the city’s billing system.
Residents and businesses have voiced serious concerns about the city’s billing practices, accusing the council of estimating meter readings, resulting in inflated water charges, even as the city grapples with prolonged water-shedding periods to conserve dwindling water reserves.
The protracted water shedding schedule, currently set at 120 hours per week, has exacerbated the plight of residents, with some suburbs enduring days without access to water.
The city’s reservoirs occasionally drop to critical levels, owing to various challenges inclusive of power outages, compelling the local authority to implement stringent water-shedding measures, further compounding the challenges faced by residents.
In an interview with Sunday News last Friday, Clr Ndlovu said there was an already existent resolution on prepaid meters and all that was its operationalisation, as part of measures to address the problem of exorbitant bills being received by residents.
The previous council of 2013 passed a resolution on prepaid water meters and this council has already started debating on the same as maybe a solution to estimates. But we are saying let’s go for not only prepaid metres but smart prepaid metres with the view of starting a pilot programme as we engage residents and other stakeholders,” said the Deputy Mayor.
Councillors have also constantly highlighted the issue of high bills being received by residents, revealing that they were failing to explain to their respective wards the reason for the bills considering the current shortage of water.
“Councillor Tinevimbo Maposa had noted challenges faced by people on high-lying areas as their bills had continued to be high while not getting water. He explained that community leaders had to be engaged to discuss the issue of high bills.
“Councillor Thandiwe Moyo noted that a workshop was important as councillors could not interpret the water bill. She also highlighted that residents were not paying their monthly bills and councillors should encourage them to pay,” reads the latest council report.
Commenting on the issue, Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairperson, Mr Winos Dube said the council’s billing system needed a complete overhaul and the coming in of smart prepaid water metres will be welcome as residents could have an opportunity to manage their bills.
“This issue of bills is complicated because when someone follows their bills closely and they dispute with council, their bill can be reduced by close to 50 percent, I personally had that experience where I got a bill of about US$600 and when I disputed with council officials it was reduced to US$200.
“This shows you that in all fairness people are not getting accurate bills, this whole system needs a complete overhaul. People are losing their property yet in all fairness these bills are not a true reflection of what they are supposed to be paying. Let these smart prepaid metres come and people can then see the difference,” said Mr Dube.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) executive director Ms Permanent Ngoma called on the need for the local authority to conduct widespread consultations before implementing the prepaid water meters in the city.
She said it was important to ensure the prepaid water meters, if implemented, do not infringe on basic human rights to do with access to water.
“Looking at the issue of prepaid water meters, for us what is key is the issue of water as a human right, are we going to be infringing on residents’ rights if we are installing these prepared water meters or are we trying to find a solution to the water challenge that the residents are facing.
“One of the key issues is that there’s a need for the city council to do very extensive consultations with the residents before they install these prepaid water metres, so that the residents get an opportunity to input and ask questions,” said Ms Ngoma.
She said it was also key to note that the local authority had once tried a pilot prepaid water meter project hence it was vital to look at this previous attempt and take lessons from there.
“If these water meters are installed, we are looking at the high rates of water but if we do install these water meters what is going to be the difference? Is it going to be cheaper for the residents or the rates would still be the same?
“And how are they going to do this tendering process, who’s supplying the prepared water meters and looking at the current situation where the city council goes around and taking the current meters we have at our own houses, how are these water meters going to be more effective to the residents in terms of access to water, all these questions have to be attended to in the consultative process,” said the BPRA executive director.
Online Reporter