Consultation and legislation before prepaid water

Water Minister and his Local Government counter part are quick to declare and order councils to introduce prepaid water meters to boast councils' revenue collection.

The Ministers' instruction is being made without paying regard to the non alignment of the Water Act and the ZINWA Act of 1998 to the new constitution. Just five months ago it had to take Justice Chinembiri Bhunu sitting at the High Court to declare that urban councils' by laws allowing councils to cut off water supply to defaulted residents was unconstitutional.

When government introduced the Water Act and ZINWA Act in place of the 1976 colonial era Water Act it was evident that the colonial act made water provision and management near impossible. The colonial act meant that people could be denied direct access to safe, clean and potable water and not have a claim against government for water as a right.

Having this kind of water was a privilege accorded by government and not one that could be claimed from government. This is why in the colonial era people would literally scavenge for water digging up little wells and drawing water direct from rivers and other such unsafe sources.

When we came to the constitution making process which we called a people driven constitution, people paid regard to that scenario and made it mandatory that government should as a matter of a right accord people with uninterrupted supply of SAFE, CLEAN and POTABLE water. This was incorporated as section 77 of the constitution.

Failure by our legislators to align our water laws to this provision led to Justice Chinembiri Bhunu making his landmark ruling (which gave him another Mbiri). In view of Justice Bhunu's ruling which said that water supply can only be cut off with a determination of the courts and both parties represented, then for as long as there is no counter legislation to this we wait to see how the prepaid meter will go and represent itself to court before cutting off water supply to the consumer (if you get my point).

The intention might be very noble and obviously copied from other countries who themselves are still battling the legality of the exercise but certainly the hurried implementation of the exercise is bound to lead us to more dry taps, cholera and back to court.

The Ministers' arbitrary ruling and the councils' immediate implementation of the exercise without proper and comprehensive consultation of the people completely defeat provisions of Chapter 14 of the constitution Section 264 2(a). The constitution is clear here that powers of local governance must be given to the people and enhance their participation in the exercise of the state in making decisions that affect them. This is why the exercise has been kicked out of Harare and Bulawayo and its now being forced into the smaller authorities.

This matter is by no means just a matter to be implemented by an order passed at some breakfast meeting. The matter must go to parliament first where the legislation governing the management and provision of water should be aligned to the constitution and proper legislation on the prepaid meters put in place and in accordance to the constitution. The talk of free water being provided first before a consumer tops up is just being left open and by the way how sufficient is sufficient water per individual?

If these meters are meant to help consumers manage their water bills then they must be left optional. Those who feel they want to control their use of water can apply for them and those that want to remain on the current metering do so then they can be easily be compelled to pay their bills. Alternatively, if these must be forced on everyone then alternative public sources of water like boreholes must first be established in those areas.

I said it in one post that our government appears to be just so keen to draw money from the citizenry in whichever way with very little regard of what it puts back to the people. We have councils already spending as much as 90% of revenue generated into personnel costs and still they want to draw more from the people. I always say in my presentations on public revenue collection that people are motivated to pay only when they see their money being put into its rightful use and accounted for.

First question to be asked is who needs the prepaid water meters, council or consumers? Resorting to just forcing people to pay is more of self help by councils than the reverse of it which is their mandatory role. Justice Chinembiri Bhunu awaits adding another mbiri on this move.

Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo is an independent social and political commentator and also Spokesperson of the Gwanda Residents Association. He writes in his own capacity and this piece has been extracted from his personal Facebook page.