(Last Updated on November 10, 2020 by Editor)
HARARE – Harare City Council Mayor, Cllr Jacob Mafume has said the cost of water treatment chemicals is one of the reasons the local authority is failing to provide enough water for its residents.
He was speaking at a workshop yesterday were he made the comments in light of the increasing pressure the Harare Council is facing from its residents as a result of the deepening water crisis prevailing.
“Council is still operating on the fiction that the dollar 1:1 and we are still using the 2019 budget,” he said.
Mafume also added that the amount residents were paying for rates was not enough to recover the costs of providing the water.
Residents have expressed deep frustration at the water situation which has been caused by a number of factors which include the drought which has led to dams drying up, high cost of chemicals and the old water treatment infrastructure which needs serious revamping.
Recently, Mayor Mafume also bemoaned the lack of support from government in availing resources to help the local authority provide good service delivery.
Another concern he raised was that companies were charging their chemicals in United States Dollars yet Council was collecting rates in local currency.