By Trevor Makonyonga
Access to clean and safe water is a basic human rights as enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe. This right might have been slowly taken away from the people of Katanga in Norton and Zimbabwe as whole as the taps have been dry for close to two months.
Of course this could seem as a very short time compared to areas like Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, and the Harare suburbs of Mabvuku, Tafara and Epworth which have areas that have gone for years without a drop from the precious liquid.
Speaking on his Twitter account, Permanent Secretary for Information, publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana seems to agree that the towns have been turned into rural areas.
“Our towns have been turned into rural areas. In this pic, residents of Bulawayo Municipal Compound, one of the province’s Covid-19 hotspots, jostle for water as a council bowser makes a delivery this morning in Makokoba. Councils have let the people down. #DysfunctionalCouncils”
This seems to be a fair assessment although the implication could be to suggest that MDC-A run councils are failing to run the local governments when in actual fact the Zanu PF through the parent ministry of local governance.
The Ministry of Local Government Housing Public works and National Housing still has to approve budgets and goings on in these councils. If it wasn’t for interventions of such organizations like the Community Water Alliance the country water woes would have been drastic than they are currently.
Having seen that the current system is not working, why not take up genuine devolution as an option to develop the urban areas? A devolved nation would mean that regions will be independent from central government and this will tone down on bureaucracy.
Areas like Norton, Epworth and Chitungwiza have to rely on Harare for water and if Harare has problems then they will suffer. The central government will not take responsibility because they will point at the councils and the councils will in turn the blame on government. So it is imperative that devolution be put on the cards. A genuine devolution process without any politics involved.
Having been put under pressure by residents on social media, Norton Town Council acting spokesperson, Eng Reggie Gavhara said, “Mvura hupenyu. Nyaya yacho inoda kubudirana pachena kwete kupomerana. Kana tikava genuinely open togona kupana mazano. (Water is life. This issue requires us to be open with each other. If we are genuinely open to each other we might share ideas.) It’s a fact that our water comes from City of Harare. If they have a problem it affects us.”
There is need to seriously consider letting councils run independently.
In related news, Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has from November 1 hiked tarrifs by 50%.
The 1st of November is here
The new tariffs are as follows:
Consumption Bands kWh Price (ZWL$)
1 – 50kWh 1.67
51 – 200kWh 3.65
201 – 300kWh 9.92
Above 300kWh 15.57
Old ZESA Tariffs
Consumption Bands kWh Price (ZWL$)
1 – 50kWh 1.11
51 – 200kWh 2.43
201 – 300kWh 6.62
Above 300kWh 10.38
With salaries stuck this hike could just choke consumers. People who can afford are switching to solar energy a situation which is not commendable on the part of the country’s energy supplier.
Most areas which have faults are going for up to six months, sometimes even more, without electricity. Now that electricity is now very expensive, some people might go off grid voluntarily.
There is a need to urgently make the towns feel like their status again. At this rate, soon there will be no difference between rural and urban areas.