Water shortages in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare continued and in some areas worsened on Thursday despite earlier assurances by authorities that the disruption which began on Monday would be resolved before the end of the week.
Sources in various parts of Harare said most of the city had no water, and even areas which seemed to have a good supply earlier in the week have seen taps dry up.
Mbare, one of the city’s most populous residential areas, has been without water for six days though it had enjoyed a steady supply for the past three months. The satellite city of Chitungwiza has had no water for two weeks, sources there said.
Efforts to obtain comment from relevant water authorities were unsuccessful, and the real reasons behind the water shortage in the capital remained unclear.
When water was first cut off early this week, authorities blamed power outages which damaged pumping equipment at the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plan, but other sources have suggested the national water utility is out of purifying chemicals.
Opposition lawmaker Gift Chimanikire, who represents Mbare for the Movement for Democratic Change faction of Morgan Tsvangirai and sits on parliament's committee on local government told Patience Rusere that the crisis demonstrates the inability of the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to manage and deliver water.