“There is nothing much we can do,” said Makone who was on her way from one of the boreholes in Glen view where meandering queues have become the order of the day.
“I have clothes that need to be washed and I have to bath my kids and do other household chores.
“As for diseases, we have survived worse situations than this. Remember, 2008 was worse than this but we survived.”
Most of Harare’s western suburbs have gone for almost a week without water after the Harare City Council embarked on a major rehabilitation of its Morton Jaffray water treatment plant.
Council says the water cuts could continue for some time after a Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) transformer at the plant blew up, complicating the maintenance work.
Glen Norah, Budiriro, Kuwadzana and Glen View, the epicentre of one of the most devastating cholera epidemics in the history of the country, are again the hardest hit by the water shortages.
In Glen Norah B, residents wake up as early as 3am to queue at the only borehole located at the intersection of Cross and Ambi roads. Two boreholes drilled by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) as a response to the cholera outbreak are not working due to lack of maintenance.
In Budiriro, Victor Siraha said they were even getting water from drainages and unprotected wells.
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Some residents were seen fetching water from a well dug adjacent a stream of overflowing sewage.
“We have been without running water since Sunday and the council has not bothered to explain to us what is going on,” said Vimbai Hove, a housewife.
“If they had given us prior warning, we could have made plans to store water for drinking and cooking.”
Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda yesterday said repairs at the treatment plant had been slowed down by the electricity outages. But he hoped the water supplies would be restored by early this week.
