The situation surrounding the unavailability and limited access to potable water by the residents of Chitungwiza continues to deteriorate amid the delayed onset of the rainy season and the El Nino induced
drought. This has seen the City of Harare, which sales water to Chitungwiza Municipality reducing its water sales from between 20 to 25 megalitres per day to about 10 megalitres per day depending on
availability. Chitungwiza does not have its own source of water and depends entirely on the City of Harare. This means that households that used to access tap water once a week are now accessing it once
per fortnight or a month.
The situation has forced many families in Chitungwiza to rely on water from shallow wells or boreholes further exposing the citizens to a danger of contracting diarrhoeal diseases. Those in need of water are now expected to walk for distances in search of this precious liquid. Some who cannot afford to brave distances, long winding queues associated with public boreholes or wake up very early looking for water are compelled to part with extra money to hire ‘waterpreneurs’ who are now selling water at $1 for three or four 25 litre buckets.
The deteriorating water situation has left many women and girls in the town with limited time as in most instances they are now forced to abandon their economically productive chores for the scarce liquid. This also means that those who now buy water from alternative sources have to pay for the same commodity twice as they pay their traditional monthly water bills to the Municipality.
A snap survey carried out last week by our Information, Research and Training department in the four council-owned clinics and Chitungwiza Central Hospital revealed that there is an increase in the cases related to water borne diseases. The Chitungwiza Municipality management acknowledged the depth of the water challenges in the dormitory town but said they do not have a solution as a local authority as the Prince Edward dam which gives water to the town has dried up.
In view of the recently introduced water rationing in Harare and subsequently in Chitungwiza, an obsolete water infrastructure, an increasing urban population and the critical water shortages caused by the prevailing drought the Chitungwiza Residents Trust urges the government to declare the water situation in urban areas a national disaster. In the Harare Metropolitan province alone, close to three million citizens are negatively affected by the scarcity of water.