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People walk past a pool of treated water gushing from a burst pipe at the corner of Julius Nyarere Way and Nelson Mandela Avenue in Harare yesterday. — Picture by Tawanda Mudimu

Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare residents have called for a debt audit following claims by several ratepayers that the city continues to charge them for water consumption despite disconnection of supplies several years ago.

Other ratepayers say council continued to bill them for water when they relied exclusively on boreholes. The Combined Harare Residents Association (Chra) said most of the amounts residents reportedly owed council were largely contentious since they were based on estimates.

“This, therefore, justifies the need for a debt audit that would culminate in debt justice,” said Chra in a statement. “Chra is also questioning the logic behind the removal of water meters in the event that residents’ water supplies are disconnected.

“During a recent meeting in Highfield, residents complained that the Harare City Council was disconnecting them without prior notice as per the legal procedure. In light of the challenges, Chra has approached human rights lawyers to ensure that residents’ constitutional rights to water and administrative justice are respected.”

Chra said Highfield residents highlighted that their water meters were removed by council employees, yet they were continuing to receive monthly bills for water consumption.

Chra said the developments in Highfield were reflective of the situation in most Harare suburbs and a clear indication that council had been using estimates to charge residents and in the process, robbing them of their hard earned cash.

“To substantiate the above claim, another Highfield resident who had his water disconnected last year said he was shocked to see council workers coming to his house last month and threatening him with water disconnections,” said Chra.

“The residents of Highfield also complained about extortion by corrupt council employees. This has been substantiated by council officials during various community meetings held by Chra in several suburbs.” Recently, Celebration Church disputed a water bill presented by the Harare City Council that ranks it among Harare’s biggest church debtors.

The church officials indicated that they were being billed for water when they had been relying exclusively on a borehole since the pre-dollarisation era. According to the city, Celebration Church owes $846 564, but the church says it only owes $154 520,95.

The church’s lawyer Mr Alex Mambosasa said the matter was pending before the High Court under Case No HC 606/ 17 and the city’s claim was for an amount of less than $400 000.