Prepaid water dries out for now

01 Oct, 2017 - 00:10 0 Views
Prepaid water dries out for now

The Sunday Mail

Debra Matabvu
The Harare City Council has temporarily shelved plans to install prepaid water meters across the capital after sharp differences arose between the local authority and the State Procurement Board over the project’s finer details. After a successful pilot between the end of last year and the first quarter of 2017, five contractors were selected to supply, install and manage the meters.

But The Sunday Mail understands that the SPB ordered a moratorium on the deal citing “hazy” details that needed clarification and/or revisiting. Sources at Town House last week said the SPB had expressed reservations that some contractors could go for years before getting profits from their investments.

The contractors – Utility Systems, Syvern Investments, Hukoshwa, Industrial Chemical and Tricon – were supposed to get a return on investment the moment a resident pays for prepaid. However, the SPB noted that contractors selected to install prepaid water meters in high-density areas would get a return at a percentage lower than those servicing low-density areas. The Harare City Council is also said to be failing to come to a concrete agreement with contractors on supply prices, with the latter allegedly inflating their quotations while citing foreign currency challenges.

“Council wanted the contractors to provide and install the prepaid meters with the suppliers recouping their money the moment customers start paying for the water,” said a source vested with information on the deal.
“But the State Procurement Board warned that the playing field was not even for the contractors. The SPB questioned why some contractors (were) getting low repayment rates compared to others.

“The board also expressed reservations over the high figures of money that would accrue to the contractors leaving council with almost nothing, raising fears Harare might not generate enough money to finance water production. An ideal situation was for the contractors to supply the meters and council does the installation.”

Harare mayor Mr Bernard Manyenyeni would not comment on the issue but said the council was taking other routes to ensure it recovers its money. Last week Government outlawed the use of conventional water meters, declaring it mandatory for local authorities to install prepaid units. Secretary for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Engineer George Mlilo recently said Government had instructed all local authorities to install prepaid water meters.

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