Water vendors refusing to be regulated

before it is sold.

Harare Water acting director Eng Simon Muserere said on Friday that the city was considering the measure after realising that the water vendors were becoming hostile to having their work regulated.

Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo has also called upon the city to be strict with the water vendors.

Eng Muserere said there was a need to ensure that the water sold by the vendors was safe.

Allegations are that some of the vendors draw the water from unprotected sources like rivers and shallow wells, while others do not clean their tankers after delivering water for construction purposes.

The vendors are predominantly visible in the low density suburbs that are not supplied with municipal water.

“Nobody knows where they get their water from,” said Eng Muserere.

“We want to test the water to protect residents.”

Eng Muserere said a recent survey in Mabelreign, Ashdown Park, Avonlea, Bluff Hill, Emerald Hill, Haig Park, Meyrick Park, Monavale, Sunridge and St Andrews showed that there were 4 494 residential properties of which 4 399 are fully developed.

He said of the properties, 4 448 had water meters, while 1 360 of the meters were non functional. Eng Muserere said 120 leaks that occur after the meter and 34 before the meter were observed in the surveyed area.

He said the city would soon mount a campaign to educate residents to report the leaks that occur within the built up area.

He said the survey was partly marred by residents’ resistance.

Complaints were that the city was not providing water and questioned why it should be interested in auditing their water meters.

Water shortages in Harare have been attributed to old plant and equipment at Morton Jaffray Water treatment Plant, theft of water revenue by city officials and water leaks.

A study by eThekwini Municipality of South Africa on Harare suggested that the city could be producing enough water for reticulated households but could be losing it to thefts and leaks.

The city has not been able to establish the correct water demand.

The figure of 1 400 million litres a day is an estimation based on the projected growth of the city. The survey by Harare Water is also meant to establish the correct water demand to allow for effective planning.