Zimbabwe News Update
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Herald ReporterHARARE City Council has proposed steep water tariff increases of up to 61 percent for high-density suburbs and a massive 188 percent for low-density areas in its US$690 million 2026 budget.City authorities say this is meant to align charges with the true cost of producing and distributing water.Presenting the budget on Thursday, Finance Committee Chairperson, Councillor Costa Mande, said the adjustments were intended to ensure cost recovery while keeping rates affordable for low-consumption households.“The 2026 water tariff review aims to align rates with cost recovery while maintaining affordability for low-consumption households,” said Cllr Mande.Related stories:https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/harare-resubmits-2024-budget/https://www.heraldonline.co.zw/resubmitted-council-budget-under-spotlight/“The lifeline band (0–5 cubic metres) remains moderately subsidised to protect vulnerable households, while consumption above 20 cubic metres will incur incremental cost recovery.”This means that households that use very little water will continue paying lower, subsidised rates, but those that use more than 20 cubic metres will pay higher rates to cover the full cost of supplying water.Under the proposed new structure, residents in high-density areas, who currently pay US$1.24 per cubic metre for the first 5 cubic metres would pay US$2,00, a 61 percent increase.In low-density suburbs, the rate for the same amount of water would rise from US$1.70 to US$4.90 per cubic metre, representing a 188 percent hike.Cllr Mande said the proposed hikes were informed by rising costs of water treatment chemicals, electricity and ageing infrastructure.“The proposed tariffs have been indexed to supply costs and energy inputs to ensure that the city can sustain water treatment and pumping operations,” he said.“At the same time, the tariff design ensures that industrial and commercial users contribute proportionately to the cost of service provision.”If approved, the increases will significantly raise monthly bills for most households, especially those in low-density areas where consumption is typically higher.While the city argues that the move will ensure sustainable water delivery, critics say it will burden already struggling residents, many of whom are not receiving reliable watersupplies despite paying existing tariffs.The proposal immediately sparked tensions among councillors during Thursday’s budget presentation.Councillor Denford Ngadziore accused the Finance Committee of going against what had been agreed in an earlier inter-committee meeting, which reportedly resolved not to raise water tariffs this year.“Cllr Mande, why hold a meeting knowing fully well that what we agreed upon in the inter-committee meeting on Wednesday was not to hike the water tariffs?” said Cllr Ngadziore.“We need to propose something residents can accept.
Before this, we already introduced a water infrastructure levy — now we’re talking about another increase.”The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has described the proposed increases as “unacceptable” and “unjustified”, accusing the local authority of commercialising an essential service and ignoring residents’ views during consultations.CHRA director Mr Reuben Akili said the new rates — US$2 per 1 000 litres in high-density suburbs and US$4.90 per 1 000 litres in low-density areas — were disproportionate to the actual cost of purifying water, which he estimated at US$0.70.“The sharp increase in water tariffs is unacceptable,” said Mr Akili.“It shows that there is something amiss in how the local authority engages residents.
It’s neither fair nor transparent, and it proves that the council is not willing to consider the voices of the people.”He said residents’ groups were already mobilising to formally object to the proposals during the ongoing budget consultations.“We have started the process of mobilising residents to object to that, and we are also engaging residents in low-density areas to resist such increases,” Mr Akili said.“Even at US$1.24, water in Harare had already been commercialised, considering that it costs the council only US$0.70 to produce 1 000 litres. Raising it to US$2 and US$4 respectively is unjustifiable.”The proposed budget will now go through a 30-day consultation period with residents, business associations and other stakeholders before being finalised.Leave a ReplyCancel reply
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