Water in Lake Chivero, Harava could last 24 months

For years, Harare residents have been agonising over deteriorating service delivery, from water shortages to the alarming waste management crisis. The Sunday Mail’s NOKUTHULA DUBE (ND) spoke to Harare Town Clerk Engineer HOSIAH CHISANGO (HC) to get answers on some of these critical issues.

**************

ND: Can you begin by outlining Harare’s service delivery priorities for this year?

HC: Local authorities, Harare included, have the mandate to provide basic social services to residents within their jurisdictions. It is acknowledged that Harare has seen a decline in the quality of services over the years.

Our focus this year, as is reflected in our 2024 budget, is on water supply, wastewater management and refuse collection and disposal. This is the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) programme of our budget.

The council has rationalised its committees and now has the environmental management committee focusing on this programme. This has elevated this cluster to where a full standing committee of the council can concentrate on this programme.

We will also focus on the roads programme.  Harare has a road network in excess of 5 000 kilometres, most of which is in a bad shape.

There is a need for a huge capital outlay to rehabilitate our road network.

We are putting in place a package to resuscitate and optimise our quarry so that we can get materials for road rehabilitation.

The city appreciates the massive road rehabilitation works being carried out by the Government in the city and our programme will complement this work and ensure our roads are trafficable again.

ND: For years, Harare has been dogged by water shortages. Does the city have a plan to comprehensively address this problem?

HC: Water supply has been a challenge in the city.

This is due to the deteriorating raw water sources, the aged and tired water supply infrastructure, the increasing cost of water treatment chemicals, as well as power supply across the city.

Plans are in place to reverse the decline and bring back acceptable water supply levels. Our short-term plans are focusing on the rehabilitation of the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant, together with the raw water intake works at Manyame Dam.

They also involve pump systems replacement at Morton Jaffray and the Letombo Pump Station, which feeds most of Harare East, Greendale, Mabvuku, Tafara and their surrounding areas.

For the short-term works, the Government, through our parent Ministry (of Local Government and Public Works) and the Ministry of Finance (Economic Development and Investment Promotion), is on board and assisting us with the required funding.

Through this intervention, we expect water supply for the city to increase from the current 40 percent to over 80 percent.

This is expected to increase revenues, some of which will be ploughed back into renewing the water distribution systems in the medium to long term.

Forecasting to 2030, we expect the Kunzvi and Musami dam water schemes to be a reality.

ND: What is the current state of Harare’s water supply dams?

HC: Harare has four raw water reservoirs — Harava, Seke, Chivero and Manyame.

Harava and Seke dams are currently at 99 percent capacity each, with the former holding 2 662 megalitres and the latter 8 851 megalitres.

These are estimated to last for four months at a production level of 70 megalitres per day, which will stretch to six months at depressed output.

Lake Chivero is currently at 99 percent, holding 220 000 megalitres, and Manyame Dam is at 96 percent, holding 480 000 megalitres.

These are estimated to last 24 months at an output of 500 megalitres per day.

The major challenge is the poor quality of raw water since the reservoirs did not spill this season.

ND: We have witnessed a resurgence of illegal landfills following the conclusion of Operation Chenesa Harare. What is the city’s plan to clear the dumps?

HC: Operation Chenesa Harare came following the promulgation of Statutory Instrument 140 of 2023, which declared Harare Metropolitan province a state of disaster in terms of waste management.

The operation managed to mobilise equipment from the Government and the private sector, as well as other local authorities, to complement what our city has.

Indeed, success was recorded.

Our sustainability plan is focusing on recapitalisation, where we intend to procure appropriate and adequate assets to manage the waste generated in Harare.

We have already taken delivery of 52 tractors through a Government facility.

The equipment is in the process of being delivered to our various districts, so we will have a tractor for every ward.

Harare has 45 wards.

The tractors are being equipped with trailers for refuse collection.

Besides refuse collection, the tractors will also be equipped with other implements such as box mowers for grass cutting and they will also be used to draw water bowsers in the various districts.

Apart from the tractors, we are in the process of acquiring additional refuse compactors, skip trucks and bins, as well as hook loader trucks and corresponding bins.

 

ND: President Mnangagwa recently unveiled a blueprint meant to enhance service delivery by local authorities. How far has Harare gone in implementing this blueprint?

HC: The city has embraced His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa’s blueprint on the call to action.

From a strategic planning perspective, we have aligned our 2024 Action Plan with the “Call to Action”, and we expect to achieve the targets and milestones enunciated therein.

We have clustered our operations into 16 thematic areas that cut across our current eight departments.

The thematic teams have various skills to undertake their delegated tasks and report monthly to the executive team led by the town clerk.

The teams are focusing on strengthening the institution and its governance systems; improving and maximising revenue generation and collection; improving service delivery; producing an operative masterplan to inform sustainable growth; modernisation of our systems and processes; and remodelling our strategic business units, among other mandates of the city.

Key among the thematic committees is the one working on our decentralisation strategy.

By this, we intend to decentralise and devolve authority to the regions and districts of the city so that services can be accessed at the council office nearest to the people, which is the district office.

Residents now have the opportunity to contribute to the city affairs through their districts.

The 2025 budget will be formulated from the districts, with the head office consolidating and monitoring performance.

ND: For years, Harare has grappled with a dysfunctional billing system that has reportedly cost the city millions of dollars. Are there plans to secure a new and functional billing system?

HC: The billing system has been the city’s Achilles heel for some time now.

The city was using the BIQ system since the 2000s until March 2019.

The system had its strengths and weaknesses. After that, Harare moved to the SAGE evolution system. This is the system that is currently in place.

Two attempts have been made to tender for an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system but unfortunately the processes are still to be concluded.

The city will carry out a comprehensive ICT (information and communication technology) audit to ascertain the current issues and what we need to do in terms of ICT deployments for us to be a modern city as required by the national vision.

The audit will also look at the infrastructure and skills the city needs to augment the current issues.

The city has entered into a partnership with the Harare Institute of Technology to implement the Local Authorities Digital System on markets and leases.

The markets module is already being implemented, while the leases module will start in July.

 

ND: Turning to the issue of illegal vending in the city, it appears the city fathers have waved a white flag.

HC: On vending, the city realises that this is now part of the economy, and that cannot be wished away or cured by engaging in running battles.

The city has a standing committee, called the SMEs Committee, to deal with the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Last year, we launched our SMEs policy.

Through the policy and other instruments, the city intends to mobilise investments in order to provide appropriate infrastructure and workspaces for the SMEs.

While it is inevitable for the city to carry out enforcements to maintain public order and decency in the city, our long-term goal is to have adequate and appropriate workspaces for the SMEs so that they can also contribute to the economic growth of the city.

ND: One of the issues that affected Harare’s revenue collection was the lack of a valuation roll. Does the city now have a current valuation roll?

HC: The city now has an updated valuation roll that was implemented at the beginning of the year.

An update of the valuation roll had the effect of increasing the property numbers, as well as the values, in most cases.

For commercial and industrial properties, the values generally increased. There are a few high-density areas where the values came down, but overall values went up, as would be expected.

ND: How much is Harare owed by residents in terms of unpaid rates?

HC: While we are focusing on service delivery, there is concern on the box of revenues.

The city was owed $783,2 billion by all ratepayers and the figure has increased to $1,5 trillion as of February 29, 2024.

While the Zimbabwe dollar figure is increasing, the value of the debt continues to go down due to the movement of the exchange rate.

The December 2023 debt had a value of US$132,9 million, while in February it had declined to US$101,3 million.

This trend will eventually incapacitate the council in terms of dealing with suppliers and other service providers that are maintaining their debts in United States dollars.

The city will then also move to maintain the debt in United States dollars so as to maintain value and be able to continue offering services.