Zimbabwe: Resurrecting a collapsed infrastructure

HARARE, 3 April 2009 (IRIN) - Repairing Zimbabwe's infrastructure is recognized as a key strategy in tackling the cholera epidemic that by 1 April had claimed 4,127 lives; the only problem is, no one knows how bad it is.

Parts of the capital, Harare, have not had running water for the past two weeks, raising fears that the waterborne disease causing 94,277 recorded cases since August 2008, might return with a vengeance after the caseload has dropped.

The practice of digging shallow wells to draw water remains part of life in the city's high-density suburbs and is widely recognized as the flashpoint for the disease, because the collapse of sanitation systems coincided with the breakdown of the piped water system.

Sam Sipepa Nkomo, the minister responsible for water resources and management in the unity government, told IRIN an audit of the state of water and sanitation infrastructure was being undertaken.

Nkomo said a summit was held recently in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, which was attended by stakeholders in water management, treatment and distribution, as well as representatives of the sewage treatment and disposal sector.

"A group of experts from that meeting was tasked with coming up with how much money is needed to revive the water and sanitation situation throughout the country."

Initial estimates were that it would take US$28 million annually to buy water treatment chemicals. "If anybody or organisations can provide me with that amount of money, then we can supply chemicals for one year," he said.

"But that would not solve the situation because there are issues of reviving the collapsed infrastructure like water pipes, water treatment plants, and being able to pump water to businesses and homes."

At the moment it was a moot point as there was no money. "We are surviving from hand to mouth," Nkomo said.

The immediate plan of action was to break down the response into three tiers, should money become available: emergency response, short-term, and a long-term plan for the provision of water and sanitation.

Barnabas Mangodza, chief executive officer of the Combined Harare Residents Association, told IRIN that attempts to put a price tag on the cost of repairs to infrastructure had come to nothing.

"We have since realized that the figure keeps rising by the day, and therefore a complete audit of the state of infrastructure in Harare needs to be done before we can come up with a figure," he said. 

A collapsed system  

"Initially, we had estimated that it would be around US$500 million, but every day we establish that most of the infrastructure might need to be totally replaced. The system is really a shell and has all but collapsed."

Former Harare mayor and engineer by profession Elias Mudzuri told IRIN that the decision by President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF in 2005 to transfer responsibility for providing water and sanitation from local to central government was the genesis of the cholera crisis.

"In the case of Harare, the government fired elected representatives and imposed clueless commissioners to run the affairs of the city," he said.

The current mayor of Harare, Muchadei Masunda, said his administration was in the final stages of returning the responsibility for water and sanitation management to the municipality.

"Sometime back in 2005 the responsibility of providing potable water to Harare was taken away from the city and given to ZINWA [Zimbabwe National Water Authority], which is a parastatal, and that was one of the most regrettable things to happen in this country," he said.

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