The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has pledged US $2.5m monthly for Harare Water Treatment. The money is for the purchase of water treatment chemicals by the Harare City Council. The bank also made foreign currency payments to two companies that supply water treatment chemicals to Harare. The water treatment supply requires US $2.5m per month.
Harare Mayor, Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni advised consumers to exercise caution until such a time that total quality is assured. He further attributed the frothing or foaming colored water to the shortage of main chemicals: aluminium sulphate, sulphuric acid, HTH Chlorine and activated carbon.
The Councillor and Reserve Bank Governor John Mangudya also mentioned that the city’s salaries were unsustainable. Mr. Manyenyeni said the foreign currency problem was a national problem and was not the case in Harare only. According to the councilor, comparison to other local authorities must include the starting point, which is the raw water. Furthermore, some councils require one or two chemicals, whereas Zimbabwe requires seven.
Water treatment process
The residents were forewarned so as not to expect immediate results as water treatment was a process. Last week Mr. Manyenyeni further added that the water coming out of the city’s taps was failing the eye test in some of the areas. At the same time there have been numerous pictures and video clips circulating over the past three months.
Councillor Manyenyeni explained that claims that the water is chemically safe to drink will not hold if residents cannot stand the sight of frothing or foaming colored water.
