HARARE – The embattled Harare Municipal Council has blamed water leakages for the soaring bills reported by residents following the rollout of newly introduced smart water meters, a move that has intensified public anger over service delivery failures in the capital.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume said the council was aware of complaints over exorbitant charges and argued that underground and household leakages were inflating consumption readings captured by the smart meters. He said the new system was designed to improve billing efficiency and curb losses but acknowledged that leakages across the ageing water reticulation network remained a major challenge.
However, residents say the explanation offers little comfort as they continue to shoulder high levies while receiving erratic and, in some cases, unsafe water supplies. In suburbs such as Westlea, residents report living in fear of a potential cholera outbreak, citing poor water quality and intermittent supply that forces households to resort to unsafe alternatives.
“We are being billed for water that either does not come out of the taps or comes out dirty and foul-smelling,” said one Westlea resident. “It feels like we are paying a premium for a service that simply does not exist.”
Residents have also criticised the council’s decision to partner with Helcraw Electrical in the installation of the smart meters, arguing that the deal has shifted the financial burden onto ratepayers without resolving long-standing infrastructure problems. Despite irregular water supplies, households continue to receive high bills, raising questions about transparency, accountability and the accuracy of the new metering system.
Public health experts warn that continued water quality problems, coupled with sewer bursts and unreliable supply, increase the risk of waterborne diseases, particularly as the rainy season approaches. Zimbabwe has previously experienced deadly cholera outbreaks linked to poor urban water and sanitation systems.
Civil society groups and residents’ associations are now calling on the council to prioritise repairing leakages, improving water treatment standards and reviewing the smart metering programme before expanding it further. They argue that without addressing underlying infrastructure decay, the new billing system risks deepening mistrust between the city authorities and residents.
As pressure mounts, the Harare Municipal Council faces growing scrutiny over whether its reforms will translate into improved service delivery or merely add to the financial strain on already burdened residents.
