GOVERNMENT is facing a serious backlash following its decision to privatise water services in urban areas, including the signing of an agreement with a Chinese company through its local partner to build a new water treatment reservoir for Harare.
Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe, early this week, announced the proposed plan involving outsourcing water management and supply in major cities to private companies.
Speaking during a Press briefing announcing the partnership between Harare City Council’s strategic unit Harare Water and Hangzhou Laison Technology through its local partner, Helcraw Electrical, to revamp the capital’s water system yesterday, Garwe acknowledged the costs associated with the partnership.
“It will be costly and it takes a lot of time to refurbish the existing infrastructure,” he said.
“In terms of a treatment plant, it is much easier, efficient, faster and cheaper to come up with a new plant that will also accommodate the new suburbs in the city that are yet to be regularised and are part of Harare.”
Garwe said the partnership would develop a roadmap to turn around the fortunes of Harare residents in terms of the supply chain for water in the city.
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“We are working on it and it is globally effective by technology that will ensure that the service being delivered to the people is affordable and is of world-class standard,” he said.
“So we are going to see a lot of affordability in the best way forward.”
Residents criticised government saying the privatisation of water in urban areas would result in increased tariffs, putting basic access to potable water, which is a human right, beyond the reach of low-income households.
Combined Harare Residents Association programmes manager Reuben Akili said the move would see local authorities such as Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls being stripped of their assets.
Akili said government was deliberately sabotaging local authorities to pursue business interests by taking over their mandates.
“Who was consulted in this whole privatisation agenda of waste management and water service provision?
“Our water problems need to be understood so that at the end of the day, we can be able to have meaningful water flows in our taps, thereby ensuring that the basic human right to water is realised,” he said.
“We need to fix the destruction of wetlands and corruption. We need to fix this, in terms of our priorities as local authorities and even the central government level.
“Unfortunately, these arrangements, which are imposed on residents, fight and militate against Chapter 14 of the Constitution in terms of devolution implementation.”
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba told NewsDay that privatisation was not the way to move forward.
“When you look at privatisation, you are looking at one form of decentralisation and we need to have an appreciation of the fact that devolution is provided for in the Constitution,” Shumba said.
“What we have is an alternative to one that seeks to enrich a few areas linked to government ministers, to the presidium and to senior government bureaucrats in the name of privatisation.”
He said privatisation would increase the cost of services to consumers.
“They are removing the citizens from the governance and administration of our local authorities in the name of wanting to expose the incompetence of the opposition,” Shumba said.
“Their desire is not to improve service delivery, but they are driven by an agenda that is fuelled by the ruling party wanting to take control of local authorities, which are mainly in the hands of opposition councillors.”
Chitungwiza Residents Trust director Alice Kuvheya shared similar sentiments, arguing that it would worsen the situation.
“Residents will be charged more for the precious liquid, which is a right for human beings,” Kuvheya said.
“We were promised construction of dams and the end to water poverty by the government, but now it seems it has failed us.
“They must learn to consult residents before making such drastic decisions. We are the stakeholders.”
However, Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions in Zimbabwe executive director Rejoice Ngwenya welcomed the government initiative.
“Given this acknowledgement by government that councils are faltering, privatisation is not only viable, but necessary for the private sector to leverage on resources and expertise that enhance service delivery, efficiency and accountability,” he said.