GOVERNMENT has honoured its pledge to bail out Harare City Council with a month’s supply of water chemicals after disbursing ZWL$9 billion to the local authority.
HCC spokesperson Stanley Gama confirmed yesterday that council had received the money, which he said was, however, a little shy of the US$1,5 million the council requires every month for water purification.
“In December the government disbursed a sum of ZWL$9b, currently the water treatment chemicals to last a month cost a total of US$1,5m,” said Gama.
Harare is currently experiencing acute water shortages with most suburbs and industrial sites having clocked several months with dry taps.
The water crisis has forced some residents to resort to unsafe water sources, exposing themselves to waterborne diseases such as cholera which is currently ravaging much of the capital and country.
The dire water situation in Harare has been worsened by the continued destruction of headwater wetlands, which serve as the city’s major natural water purification sponges.
Government also pledged to drill more boreholes in a development meant to avert water shortages in the capital city.
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