HARARE - Zimbabwe's capital shut its main
water works on Monday citing shortages of foreign currency to
import treatment chemicals, the deputy mayor said, potentially
leaving the city dry and raising the risk of water borne
diseases like cholera.
Last year, the southern African nation suffered its worst
cholera outbreak in a decade, which killed at least 26 people
mainly in Harare, due to burst sewers and inadequate water
supplies.
An El Nino-induced drought has reduced water levels in the
country's dams, including Kariba, which supplies the biggest
hydro electricity plant and hit the capacity of cities and towns
to supply water to residents.
Harare City Council deputy mayor Enock Mupamawonde told
reporters that the local authority required at least 40 million
Zimbabwe dollars ($2.7 million) a month for water chemicals but
it was only collecting 15 million Zimbabwe dollars in monthly
revenue.
He said the shortages of foreign exchange for chemicals had
forced the council to close its Morton Jaffray treatment plant
outside Harare for now. He did not know when it would be
re-opened.
"It (the shutdown) is due to the non availability of foreign
currency...it is devastating to say the least," Mupamawonde told
reporters, urging President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government to
declare the water crisis a national disaster.
"We are unlikely to see the situation improving if no urgent
action is taken."
July Moyo, the local government minister who oversees the
operations of councils, could not be reached for comment.
Zimbabwe is gripped by a severe shortage of dollars that has
weakened the value of its local currency, introduced in June.
Last week, the Zimbabwe dollar tumbled by 23% on the black
market but had recovered on Monday after the central bank at the
weekend closed bank accounts owned by four companies it said
were being investigated for money laundering.
The bank also tightened currency trading rules by bureax de
change, limiting forex amounts that travellers could buy.
Mupamawonde said city residents owed 1 billion Zimbabwe
dollars in unpaid bills, constraining the council's capacity to
provide adequate services.
The Morton Jaffray treatment plant is producing less than
half of its installed capacity of 704 mega-litres of water per
day against demand of 1,200 mega-litres, leaving many residents
without water.
A smaller treatment plant was closed last month after two
smaller dams dried up, according to the city council.