By Virginia Njovo
Masvingo City Council non-revenue water headache continues with the local authority losing US$483 492.19 in January only.
This was revealed in the Public Works and Planning Committee minutes dated February 10, 2025 that almost 50 percent of treated water fell under non-revenue water for January only, due to leakages and stuck meters.
“It was reported that the non- revenue water for January was 48.71 percent which translated to US 483 492.19.
“It was reported that the discussion on ways of reducing non-revenue water would be made at the combined meeting of the Public Works and Planning and Finance and General Purposes Committees,” reads part of the minutes.
Previous reports show that Masvingo City Council lost millions of dollars in non-revenue water as the estimated figure in October last year ranged towards US$5 million. This shows continuity in the loss of treated water as by October the rate was 43 percent and now the city is fast approaching 50 percent which is half of the treated water.
Speaking during a full council meeting on February 24, ward 9 Councillor Bernard Muchokwa said if the matter remained unattended Masvingo City Council would be broke.
“If the issue of non-revenue water continues to come in these meetings without tangible resolutions, the local authority will become bankrupt in no time as the percentage is rising, in 2024 before year end we lost almost US$5 million in non-revenue water ,” said Muchokwa.
Masvingo Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) spokesperson Godfrey Mutimba told TellZim News that the continuity of these loses had become a matter of concern to the residents.
“The continued loss of treated water has now become a matter of concern to residents as the huge amount would be used in other areas of concern. As MURRA we urge City Council to come up with lasting solutions to this problem, proper planning and immediate implementation to curb these losses as WASH is prioritized even in budgeting procesess,” said Mutimba.
Speaking to TellZim News, Masvingo City Council Mayor, Alec Tabe said they had plans in place to mitigate the challenge which he said was mainly caused by illegal connections.
“As Masvingo City we noticed illegal connections in the commonage might be the major problem and stuck meters which leads to wrong estimates.
“Therefore we are trying our best to attend to the leakages as well as doing zone metering where we check the billed water versus the amount of water which has been delivered to that area,” said Tabe.
He also said urged residents to pay minimum charges when they get water through bowsers for events as that water was classified under non-revenue water.
“We are also encouraging residents to pay minimum charges when given bowser water on funerals and other incidents as that water falls under non-revenue water though it is already in our system of treated water,” he added.
