BERTHA MASAMVU
Harare’s perennial water crisis is far from over with the local authority saying all projected plans by the government will likely come to naught due to a number of logistical problems.
This is despite the local authority having received millions of dollars including the controversial US$72m which is part of a Chinese loan meant for rehabilitation of the Morton Jaffray Water Works.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said there has not been any meaningful development in dams while purchasing chemicals to clean available water to make it potable have been hampered by logistical problems.
“The water crisis is in two parts,” Mafume said. “Dams have not been built since 1976 and the solution now is to build a canal from Muchekeranwa Dam. Government is constructing Kunzvi Dam but there is no offtake agreement with the city and it is not clear as to who will build the water treatment plant for the dam.”
“It is not being built simultaneously with the dam. The dam will soon be finished and people will ask where the water treatment plant is? There needs to be done simultaneously to make sense,” Mafume said.
He also raised concern over lack of local capacity to deliver the much-needed water chemicals adding that the local authority has no foreign currency to import chemicals from other countries.
“We have a company called Chemplex that is undercapitalised and it cannot afford to buy raw materials. We need sulphuric acid from South Africa, other chemicals from Mozambique and Zambia but we have been failing on the payments to those suppliers,” Mafume said.
“As of now Chemplex is not producing any liquid and we are having to import aluminium sulphate from China and that has created logistical problems.”
Harare has been faced with a water crisis that has affected close to two million residents including Norton, Epworth and Ruwa who all rely on the capital city for the precious liquid.
