
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s water management system is set to undergo a massive transformation as the government moves towards the introduction of prepaid smart water meters across the country.
This shift aims to improve potable water provision and foster rapid development of water supply and conveyancing systems, with private capital playing a key role.
The initiative will begin in Harare, where a modern water treatment plant will be developed alongside new infrastructure for water distribution. Private entities will handle key aspects of the water management process, including raw water purification, distribution, billing, and wastewater management. The new prepaid smart meters will be installed in residential areas to allow for more efficient and accurate billing.
This transition is expected to address the City of Harare’s long-standing challenges with its billing system, which has been plagued by inefficiencies and the lack of a functional enterprise resource planning system. These problems have contributed to the local authority’s struggles with revenue collection.
The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has signed agreements with the City of Harare, Hangzhou Liaison Technology Company, and Helcraw Electrical to implement the initiative under a Build, Transfer, and Operate (BTO) model, which will privatise water management in the capital. This model will later expand to other residential areas across Zimbabwe, with technical teams currently assessing the existing water distribution networks to ensure a smooth rollout.
Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, confirmed that an implementation schedule would be developed once the assessment is complete. “The water privatisation exercise is set to be rolled out countrywide, with a team of technicians currently assessing and ascertaining areas across the country,” he said. “What is being privatised is the whole chain, from purification and distribution to the billing of water.”
Dr. Shingirayi Mushamba, Chief Director for Spatial Planning and Development in the Ministry, added that the number of smart meters to be procured will be determined once the ongoing assessments are completed. “The programme is going to be countrywide, and the teams are currently ascertaining the number of smart meters needed and the areas that will be covered,” he said.
Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume emphasized that the new smart meters would allow residents to track their water usage in real-time, leading to more informed decisions on consumption. “Water smart meters will enable residents to track their water consumption in real-time, allowing them to make informed decisions to reduce their usage,” Mafume said in a statement to The Sunday Mail. “While we recognise the importance of access to clean water, we also need to ensure that we can recover the costs associated with treating and supplying water to our residents.”
The local authority has struggled to collect rates for essential services, including water and sanitation, with issues such as meter tampering and illegal connections exacerbating the situation. Residents have also raised concerns about the accuracy of the billing system, which has often been based on estimates and non-existent services.
Urban planning expert Dr. Percy Toriro stressed the need for accountability in the water management system, despite the privatisation of services. “Privatisation of public goods is a double-edged sword; it brings efficiency but often makes the service unaffordable for many,” he said. “Most cities that efficiently run their water services adopt a hybrid system, a model that is semi-autonomous and independent enough to make quick decisions, yet remains accountable to stakeholders.”
The move towards water privatisation follows a history of inadequate water services in many opposition-run local authorities, with some areas going without running water for years. Harare province has experienced two cholera outbreaks in the last five years, in 2019 and 2023, highlighting the critical need for improved sanitation and access to clean water.
Several African countries, including South Africa, Senegal, Gabon, and Côte d’Ivoire, have already introduced full or partial water privatisation, with varying degrees of success. The Zimbabwean government hopes that this initiative will lead to more efficient water management and a more sustainable system for the future.