Bulawayo dumps prepaid water meter project

The Bulawayo City Council has announced it will no longer proceed with the installation of smart water meters, citing their high cost and resident opposition as key factors in the decision.

Town Clerk Christopher Dube recently disclosed that the council had conducted consultations regarding the smart meter initiative, which was initially proposed to address concerns over escalating water bills. However, feedback revealed that residents were largely against the installation.

According to the latest council minutes, the durable smart meters are manufactured in Italy, contributing to their prohibitive costs. Dube noted that the expenses associated with maintaining the necessary infrastructure would also be significant. "Council had done a mini-survey with other local authorities that implemented smart meters, and feedback from one of them indicated that the project did not yield good results," the minutes stated.

Bongiwe Ngwenya, the council's corporate communications officer, acknowledged the inquiries regarding the matter and promised to provide further details soon.

Bulawayo has been grappling with a long-standing water crisis, prompting government intervention to seek sustainable solutions for the city's water supply challenges. Earlier media reports from July indicated that Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu had proposed the adoption of smart water meters in response to consumer complaints about high water bills, aiming to enhance efficiency and transparency in billing.

The decision to abandon the smart meter project raises concerns about how the council will address the ongoing water crisis and the high costs that residents face. As the situation develops, residents will be watching closely for alternative solutions that may be presented by the council in the future.