FACT SHEET
No. 2, 2019
The Water Crisis
Section 77 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution states that “every person has a right to safe,
clean and potable water and the State must take reasonable legislative and other
measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive
realisation of this right.”1 Lack of key water treatment chemicals forced Harare’s water
treatment plant Morton Jaffray to halt production on 23 September 2019, leaving over
one million people without running water.2 Harare City Council (HCC) cited foreign
currency shortages as the reason for the shutdown. Deputy Mayor, Enock
Mupamawonde urged government to declare the water situation a national disaster,
enlisting that the local authority needs at least 40 million Zimbabwe Dollars (US$2.7
million) a month for water chemicals, against a revenue of 15 million Zimbabwe dollars
they collect per month.3
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stipulates that ideally every person should
access between 50 and 100 litres of water per day to ensure the most basic needs are
met and the outbreak of disease is prevented.4 With the serious shortages of this
precious and life- saving liquid many citizens in Zimbabwe fall far short of this
standard. Citizens need clean water for drinking, personal sanitation, washing of
clothes, food preparation and personal and household hygiene.
Sustainable Development Goal 6 urges duty bearers to ensure availability and
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. In the current situation this goal
remains a pipe dream unless there is more commitment and political will on the part of
local and central government to improve the situation.
Even at the continental level, Africa is also concerned by the water deficits most
citizens face on the continent and the N’gor Declaration by Africa Water ministers is
hinged on highlighting the importance of accessibility of clean and affordable water.
Some residents have resorted to drilling boreholes to access clean water, however these
boreholes require electricity to pump water, something which is a challenge considering
the constant power cuts lasting up to 18 hours daily. Generally, many local authorities
throughout the country cannot pump running water to residents due to power cuts.5
Those with water tanks on their properties rely on individuals or privately-owned water
companies to pump water into the tanks at considerable cost often pegged in USD.
Residents are mostly dependent on city or donor-drilled boreholes. These water sources
are sometimes unclean due to poor sanitation as evidenced by the September 2018
1
Section 77, Constitution of Zimbabwe
CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/24/africa/harare-water-crisis-intl/index.html
3
VOA https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/zimbabwe-harare-water-works-shutdown/5095383.html
2
4
https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/humanright_to_water_and_sanitation_media_brie
f.pdf
5
The Standard https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2019/07/21/zimbabwe-reels-18-hr-power-cutscripple-business-push-cost-living/