Harare council to hike water charges by 900%

Harare City Council has proposed to increase water charges by at least 900 per cent, while at the same time some ratepayers will be levied in foreign currency.

Following a joint meeting of the Finance and Development as well as the Human Resources and General purposes committees, the council issued a statement on Monday reads as follows:

That the town clerk and acting finance director pursues the proposal to charge certain ratepayers or customers or services or products in foreign currency after applying for obtaining the necessary exemptions referred to in the preamble above from Government.

Harare is proposing to increase water charges from $ 0.80c per cubic meter to around $ 7.00 to allow adequate funding of the water sector.

The cost of electricity which is the second cost driver in water treatment and conveyance has also gone up. It has, therefore, become necessary to review the cost of water.

The council also explained the cause of the water shortages and blamed the water pricing structure for shortage of water in suburbs.