Harare – Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe’s third-largest urban settlement with a population approaching one million residents, remains entirely dependent on Harare for its water supply – a dependency that is failing its residents, the government admitted in Parliament this week.

Responding to a question from St Mary’s legislator Brighton Mazhindu, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works Albert Mavunga told the National Assembly that Chitungwiza currently receives an average of just 14 megalitres of treated water per day against a daily demand of 70 megalitres, resulting in chronic shortages, severe rationing, and heavy reliance on private vendors and council bottled water.

The admission comes as residents of the densely populated dormitory town south of Harare continue to endure what activists have described as a “severe disaster in the making,” with raw sewage now a permanent feature of daily life in many suburbs. Chitungwiza residents recently took the government to court over the failure to provide adequate and safe drinking water.

DAM PROJECT IN LIMBO

Deputy Minister Mavunga told Parliament that the government has identified the Muda-Nyatsime Dam project as the long-term solution to provide Chitungwiza with a dedicated, independent water source. The proposed Muda Dam along the Mupfure River has a planned capacity of 53,119 megalitres, and would be part of a broader project also including the Nyatsime Dam and associated treatment and distribution infrastructure.

In the interim, the government says it is rehabilitating existing water and sewer infrastructure, expanding borehole capacity, and mobilising investment through partnerships.

But when Mazhindu pressed the Deputy Minister on whether funding had actually been secured for the Muda-Nyatsime project – noting that the question had been asked before and the government previously said it had no money – the response was evasive.

“Most raw water bodies fall under a different ministry. So, for me to delve into the funding of these projects would be irregular,” Mavunga said, referring Mazhindu to the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture.

The Deputy Minister also mentioned the Kunzvi Dam, which is under construction and nearing completion, as another project that would help address Chitungwiza’s water challenges. However, Kunzvi Dam is primarily designed to serve Greater Harare, and the Deputy Minister again deferred questions on financing to other ministries.

’11 YEARS OF BEGGING’

Chitungwiza’s water crisis is not new. The town, which the 2022 census recorded as having approximately 411,000 residents but which officials now say is approaching one million, has no independent water source or treatment plant of its own.

Residents’ groups have described the situation as a “chronic water shortage” that has left the community “reliant on external sources” for years. Some estimates suggest Chitungwiza’s daily water demand is as high as 75 megalitres per day, but the town receives as little as 6 megalitres on some days, with weekend supplies dropping as low as 1 to 3 megalitres.

“Chitungwiza has over half a million residents, but no independent water source. For 11 years, we have begged government to act,” Chitungwiza Residents Trust director Alice Kuveya previously told the media.

The municipality has said it requires at least US$426 million to fully address its worsening water and sewer infrastructure challenges.

‘PREPAID WATER IN A SEA OF SEWAGE’

Mazhindu, whose St Mary’s constituency is among the hardest-hit areas, has been a persistent voice on the crisis, challenging the government in Parliament on sewer blockages, the stalled Nyatsime housing scheme, and recurrent flooding.

Residents have questioned whether it is “justifiable to demand advance payment for a service that is often non-existent,” as Chitungwiza Municipality has pushed for prepaid water meters while failing to provide reliable supply.

The public health crisis has become so severe that raw sewage has evolved “from an occasional infrastructure failure into a permanent and dangerous feature of daily life,” according to residents and observers.

With the government unable to confirm funding for the Muda-Nyatsime Dam – the very project meant to end Chitungwiza’s dependency – and the Kunzvi Dam still not operational, residents face the prospect of another dry season without relief.