Sources around Zimbabwe said water and electric services remained erratic following a major power blackout over the weekend which the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority blamed on a system malfunction.
An informal survey by VOA found that most parts of Harare had no electricity or water on Tuesday. Nearby Chitungwiza had had no water or power for nine days.
Electricity in Bulawayo has been turned off almost daily for four to 12 hours at a time. Bulawayo reservoirs are full, but residents have had no water for the past four days.
In eastern Mutare, residents said electric power had been available for up to 12 hours a day in the past two days; previously it was on for just two hours a day.
In Gweru, Midlands, residents had gone without water for four days and some living in the high-density suburb of Mkoba were digging wells and selling water. But the flow of electricity had improved in Gweru since the national blackout on the weekend.
Electric power was erratic in Masvingo, but the south-central town has a steady supply of water, which some attribute to the fact that the water system is still controlled by the municipality rather than the Zimbabwe National Water Authority. ZINWA has taken over many city water systems in the country in the past year.
Chitungwiza resident Nicholas Zulu said he has had no water for nine days. Zulu told reporter Patience Rusere how he is surviving the water and power shortages.