prepaid water meters

                                                    


Confusion surrounds the issue of prepaid water meters with authorities at Harare’s Town House issuing conflicting statements on the council’s exact position.

Harare Mayor, Bernard Manyenyeni insists that there should be wide consultation before implementation of the proposed metering system, adding that council has not yet reached a decision.

Earlier in March, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) upped its fight against prepaid water meters by coming up with a position paper outlining its research findings on the controversial gadgets.

The organisation found that the prepaid system was at odds with Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and cultural context and would be problematic as the gadgets would lead to an affront on the right to water, particularly for poor people who would not always be able to purchase water before they access it.


Studies on introduction of prepaid meters in southern Africa indicate that they are often introduced as a panacea to problems of water management such as failure to administer free water, failure to recover costs or debts and failure to control water consumption and wastage.

They are often viewed as a magic bullet for such problems as they can be programmed to disperse a certain amount of free water each month and can be calibrated to deduct a certain percentage of payments made to recover debts, while they also offer an incentive for people to pay up and use water sparingly.

 In recent years, Africa’s economic growth rates have averaged around 5.2% per annum, making the continent one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Coupled with high population growth, urbanisation and changing lifestyles, the demand for natural resources especially water continues to increase rapidly on the continent with no signs that both growth and demand will slow down any time soon. This highlights an urgent need for water utilities to broaden and expand their infrastructure. At the same time, water as a sector is difficult to manage because conflicting industries are vying for the slice of this liquid pie.”

The issue of water problems is a continental issue bit the citizens of Zimbabwe lack trust in thier gorvenment to fully implememt a proper working prepaid water meter programm.