'Govt buildings should be the first to install pre-paid water meters'

Government buildings should take the lead by installing pre-paid water meters as pilot projects before rolling it out to residential areas.

Harare Residents' Trust (HRT) says government  departments have always been reluctant to pay for water supplies.

In a statement, HRT said government should lead by example and pay for its water before the programme is rolled out to the residential areas.

"To begin with, the council should install the prepaid meters in government offices and on different ministers' [properties] who reportedly owe council a lot of money," the residents' body said.

"Installing pre-paid meters given the current scenario of inadequate supplies of water, broken pipes and water pipe thefts is not ideal.

"Primarily, the council is insisting on pre-paid meters as a way of increasing revenue collections and their focus is not to supply water effectively and efficiently."

HRT warned that the plans to impose the project would negatively affect women and children who will have to bear the pain of walking long distances in search of clean water or fetching it from polluted sources, something which would lead to outbreaks of cholera and typhoid.