Water authority begins ‘load shedding’ in Harare

By Lance Guma
25 June 2007

The collapse of essential services came to the fore once again with reports from the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) that residents in Glen View and Glen Norah have been without water for 3 days. There are now widespread fears of a disease outbreak if both the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) and the illegal commission running Harare, continue to ignore pleas from residents. CHRA Information Officer Precious Shumba told Newsreel it was possible the water authority had now introduced a ‘load shedding’ exercise to compensate for the dwindling water pumping capacity of the city. He said ZINWA officials are claiming they have no resources to solve the problem.

Tungamirai Madzokere and Naome Kazingi who are ward coordinators for the suburbs said residents risked contracting diseases like cholera and dysentery. People in Glen Norah are said to be fetching water from a dam between Glen Norah A and B since Friday last week. Kazingi is quoted as saying, ‘that dam receives most of its water from a stream originating from Highfield and imagine the burst sewerage from upstream. The ZINWA officials and the District Office have continued to ignore our reports and we do not know where to make our reports now.”

Other residents like Timothy Mufunga told CHRA they have not bathed since Friday, ‘our toilets have become no-go areas. The stench is too strong for comfort in our homes. Those women with children have nowhere to wash their napkins and the situation is so terrible. Promises to redress the situation have yielded no positive results.’ The association reports long queues emerging at the Amalinda plots where people are getting the water. More worrying is the fact that residents living near the water source have no toilets and use the bush to relive themselves.

Teachers at Glen View 4 and 1 Primary Schools have also started turning their pupils away due to acute water shortages. It is feared if they attend school it will create a health hazard. Several other suburbs in Harare, like Msasa Park, are reported to have also gone without water for 3 days.