Outrage Erupts as Government Plans Prepaid Water System for Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls
The government’s announcement of plans to introduce prepaid water systems in Harare, Bulawayo, and Victoria Falls has sparked a social media firestorm, with critics calling the move premature and unjust.
Privatising Water Supply Systems
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe revealed that the government is actively seeking investors to revamp Zimbabwe’s struggling urban water supply system. The goal is to privatise water provision, addressing decades of inconsistent water delivery to urban ratepayers.
“We were given greenlight to privatise, we are now in the process of inviting the private sector players, both local and international, to bring proposals of interest,” Garwe said.
He disclosed that five companies—three international and two local—have already expressed interest.
“We want somebody with the capacity to engineer, procure, construct, manage and finance. So far, we have received five, three from international players and two from local players. It’s work in progress and we are hoping by the end of next week, we will have interviewed them and identified the suitable candidates,” he disclosed.
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