The poor do not get thirsty

15 Mar, 2015 - 00:03 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Heads of local authorities in the country’s major cities have told us that pre-paid water meters will be in use very soon, and before the end of this year in the case of Harare.

Once in place, residents will have to consume water that they would have paid for instead of consuming first and then defaulting payment as has been the norm in many cases.

The issue, having been mooted for some time now, has always been contentious; sparking heated and very emotional debate that has often led to shelving of such plans.

The major issue is that of the vulnerable in our society.

After all, we are each and every one of us aware of the economic situation in the country.

What happens to the economically disadvantaged who cannot even afford a decent meal three times a day?

Do they go without water because they simply do not have money on them?

Provisions in Zimbabwe’s Constitution and various international conventions protect every person’s right to water.

In our case, the right to water is captured in no uncertain terms in Section 77 of the Constitution, which also talks about the right to food and Government’s responsibility to ensure these rights are upheld at whatever reasonable cost.

Section 77 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe says: “Every person has the right to (a) safe, clean and potable water; and (b) sufficient food; and the State must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.”

As such, we ask that Government, as a custodian of the Constitution and elected by the majority to uphold its letter and spirit, will not allow the rolling out of the pre-paid water system in a manner that leaves the many poor people in Zimbabwe with their rights trampled upon.

Yes, local authorities provide water at a great cost and they need money to ensure service delivery.

We also know that defaulters owe Harare City Council over US$278 million and yet still expect the local authority to spend some US$100 000 daily on water treatment chemical purchases.

But what we also know is that we cannot afford to allow local authorities to place financial gain above livelihoods.

That would surely be a stab in the back.

This means councils have to find alternative sources of revenue so that water is subsidised in a sustainable manner.

Many people, indoctrinated by “conventional” economic wisdom, hate to hear of subsidies, but the truth is that is the only realistic way of ensuring that the basic constitutional and universal right to water is upheld.

The reality is that we cannot expect the very poor in our urban areas to pay for water the same way the affluent do.

So we must devise ways of helping them.

Local authorities should be prodded to find ways of widening their revenue bases in a manner that is both progressive and acceptable to the people.

When service delivery is good, people — except perhaps for rogues who are better dealt with via legal channels — do not mind paying rates and other dues.

Further, local authorities must really step up their revenue collection game.

There are many defaulters who are not paying, not because they can’t but because they don’t want.

That money should be brought into the coffers ASAP.

But this is not just about city authorities; residents, too, have a very important role to play here.

People must learn to use water responsibly.

Time and again we read and hear the statistics that tell us there is very little water available in the world for human consumption.

Residents must stop wasting water so that costs for its delivery are reduced.

Water is a vital pillar of everyday existence and should be treated with the importance it deserves.

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