Harare residents have disputed Mayor Cllr Lovejoy Chitengu’s assertion that the city’s tap water is safe for drinking.
This disagreement stems from Chitengu’s assurance to residents that the city’s tap water is fit for consumption and has been certified safe by experts.
Residents have challenged Chitengu to provide evidence of the safety of tap water in the city’s western suburbs, such as Kambuzuma and Glen Norah, where reports suggest contamination issues persist.
In an attempt to demonstrate the safety of the water, Chitengu drank tap water during a recent tour of the Morton Jaffray waterworks.
Ruben Akili, Director of the Combined Residents of Harare Association (CRHA), expressed concerns about declaring the water in Harare safe for drinking.
“It is incorrect to claim that the water we drink in Harare is safe,” Akili stated.
“This statement is not true, as even the Ministry of Health advises people to boil the water before consumption due to the recent Cholera outbreak,” he added.
Akili also highlighted the residents’ lack of confidence in consuming tap water, particularly when it appears discolored.
He argued that Mayor Chitengu’s claim regarding the cleanliness of the water, as demonstrated by his consumption at Morton Jaffray, is not entirely accurate.
“Mayor Cllr Lovejoy Chitengu’s claims that the water is clean and safe, as demonstrated by his consumption at Morton Jaffray, is not entirely accurate,” Akili explained.
“The water that reaches the suburbs through broken pipes can become contaminated underground due to burst sewer pipes, rendering it unsafe for consumption,” he elaborated.
Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono weighed in on the matter, suggesting that water contamination occurs when it enters Harare’s “old rusty network,” making it unsafe for consumption.
On social media platform Twitter, Chin’ono stated, “The issue here is that the new mayor is at the treatment plant, so quality should generally be good at the source.”
“However, the water has not yet entered into the old rusty network of Harare where it gets contaminated. Storage tanks are also a source of water contamination,” he continued.
“The mayor should drink the water from Kambuzuma or Glen Norah, and not at the treatment plant,” Chin’ono advised.
“It is like being at the source of a polluted river, and you say the river is not polluted without taking into consideration pollution sources downstream,” Chin’ono concluded.
