By Victor Fanuel
HARARE — Tempers flared in Warren Park on Thursday as residents confronted what they say is a worsening water crisis triggered by the City of Harare’s rollout of prepaid water meters.
Harare City Council partnered with Helcraw Electrical Projects, chaired by Zanu PF Murehwa West MP Farai Jere, to implement prepaid water meters as part of a large water infrastructure upgrade to fix the capital’s failing water system.
The project, which was implemented last year, included pilot areas such as Warren Park and satellite towns like Chitungwiza, although the earliest installations started in flats near the central business district.
Harare residents associations have, however, in the past voiced concerns that the prepaid water meters prioritise revenue collection over service delivery.
At a community meeting in Warren Park 1, facilitated by the Community Water Alliance (CWA), residents narrated harrowing experiences of going days without water despite being forced onto the new billing system.
For 92-year-old Amos Mapuranga, the transition has been particularly bitter.
“I am furious with the local authorities for lying to me,” he said, his voice shaking with anger.
“They told me that once the prepaid water meter was installed, the advance payment I had already made would cover my billing.
“But ever since the meter was installed, I have failed to get water,” he added.
Mapuranga’s experience mirrors growing complaints from residents who say the meters are being introduced in neighbourhoods already struggling with intermittent water supply under the City of Harare.
Anger at the meeting was palpable.
Some residents initially mistook organisers for officials from the City of Harare and arrived carrying 5-litre containers filled with murky tap water.
They said they intended to force officials to drink it to demonstrate what residents endure daily.
Another resident, who requested anonymity, said households were misled about the financial implications of the prepaid system.
“Before they installed these prepaid water meters, we were told this would reduce our water tariffs.
“But to our surprise, the rates have actually gone up,” she said.
Residents also say the system has failed to address long-standing complaints about poor water quality.
“This is retrogressive,” said a resident who identified himself only as Joseph.
“We thought prepaid water meters would mean we would finally drink safe water.
“But the water is still contaminated,” added Joseph.
For elderly resident Mbuya Mlambo, the issue goes beyond billing.
“We were promised 1,000 litres of water,” she said.
“But we later discovered that only 1,000 litres had actually been allocated to us,” she said.
“These prepaid meters were forced on us.
“Our councillor never consulted residents, yet we are now being told we must bear the cost of the meters that were imposed on us,” said Mlambo.
During deliberations of the community meeting, a resident who identified himself as Kundai Murechu said some residents initially welcomed the new system because Harare’s billing had long relied on estimates rather than actual consumption.
“Before the introduction of the prepaid meters, we were being charged based on estimates. We thought the prepaid system would improve the situation.
“But we later realised that the meters were not properly calibrated.
“They have neither improved access to water nor the quality of the water,” he said.
CWA national coordinator Goodlife Mudzingwa accused the municipality of prioritising revenue collection instead of addressing the structural problems crippling Harare’s water system.
“One thing you should know is that the installation of prepaid meters was made possible through a loan secured from China,” Mudzingwa said.
“What beats logic is that Harare loses nearly 60% of its treated water as non-revenue water through leakages and illegal connections.
“Instead of using the loan to address this perennial loss, the City Fathers are focused on billing residents when water is rarely available,” added Mudzingwa.
Mudzingwa urged residents to pursue legal channels.
“I urge all of you with grievances about the prepaid meters to use the rightful channels. For example, we can assist residents in taking the City of Harare to court,” he said.
The Warren Park complaints are part of a broader national controversy.
The government has announced plans to install hundreds of thousands of prepaid water meters across Zimbabwe’s major cities, beginning with Harare and satellite towns such as Norton, Ruwa, and Chitungwiza.
Authorities argue the system will improve revenue collection, reduce water wastage, and ensure households only pay for what they consume.
But residents’ organisations such as the Harare Residents Trust and the Combined Harare Residents Association say prepaid meters will not solve the city’s chronic water shortages, which are largely caused by ageing infrastructure, leakages, and governance failures.
Harare currently struggles to consistently supply municipal water to many connected households, forcing thousands of residents to rely on boreholes or private water suppliers.
The prepaid meter programme has also raised transparency concerns.
The project is being implemented under a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement involving local firm Helcraw Electrical Projects and Chinese technology partner Hangzhou Liaison Technology Company.
Critics say the contract — linked to politically connected business interests — was awarded without a public tender, fuelling suspicion that the initiative is more about profit than service delivery.
For Warren Park residents, however, the debate is far less abstract.
Their concern is simple: they want access to water.
“We are now expected to pay first before we even know if water will come.
“Right now, the truth is we are paying for something we are not getting,” said one resident during the meeting.
