HARARE —
Treasury says it has secured enough resources to finance the refurbishment of old and burst water pipes in Harare in a bid to end the water problems affecting the city’s residents.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti told reporters in Harare that Treasury has secured $140 million which will be handed over to Harare City Council next week for replacing old and burst water pipes throughout the city.
The minister said water shortages currently being experienced in the capital are a result of leakages of purified water as it is channeled from the treatment center located at Morton Jaffray Water Works to end users throughout the city.
Studio 7 failed to get a comment from Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda but caught up with the Movement for Democratic Change local authority chief whip, Victor Chifodya.
Councillor Chifodya said the Treasury disbursement will help in ensuring that ratepayers have access to water within the shortest possible time.
The council official said town house is failing to provide adequate water to ratepayers partly because government has not been paying what it owes council.
A statement released by the finance ministry Tuesday indicated that government owes its local service providers including local authorities $350 million.
Investigations by Studio 7 indicate that suburbs such as Mabvuku, Tafara, Greendale and Ashdown Park have gone more than a week now without water.
Meanwhile, health experts are warning that outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid could soon resurface in the city if water shortages persist.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti told reporters in Harare that Treasury has secured $140 million which will be handed over to Harare City Council next week for replacing old and burst water pipes throughout the city.
The minister said water shortages currently being experienced in the capital are a result of leakages of purified water as it is channeled from the treatment center located at Morton Jaffray Water Works to end users throughout the city.
Studio 7 failed to get a comment from Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda but caught up with the Movement for Democratic Change local authority chief whip, Victor Chifodya.
Councillor Chifodya said the Treasury disbursement will help in ensuring that ratepayers have access to water within the shortest possible time.
The council official said town house is failing to provide adequate water to ratepayers partly because government has not been paying what it owes council.
A statement released by the finance ministry Tuesday indicated that government owes its local service providers including local authorities $350 million.
Investigations by Studio 7 indicate that suburbs such as Mabvuku, Tafara, Greendale and Ashdown Park have gone more than a week now without water.
Meanwhile, health experts are warning that outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid could soon resurface in the city if water shortages persist.
