OVER 20 Bulawayo civic society organisations yesterday rolled out their planned anti-prepaid water meter campaigns aimed at forcing the Bulawayo City Council to rescind its decision to install the unpopular gadgets.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
Spokesperson for the civic groups, Mmeli Dube, said they were currently lobbying residents to join in campaigns, dubbed Right to Water Campaign, in the high and low-density suburbs.
Dube said they would encourage citizens to block the installation of the gadgets as they were discriminatory against the poor.
BCC is currently piloting the pre-paid water meter system in the sprawling Cowdray Park high-density suburb before rolling them out to other areas of the city.
The local authority argues that pre-paid water meters will help deal with problems of estimated meter readings, and above all, force residents to pay for water usage.
Dube said their campaign sought to ensure every resident, poor or rich, had access to water as enshrined in the Constitution.
“We want to highlight the challenges of the pre-paid meters and push the council to rescind its decision to install them. We are targeting not only the council, but the government that supports the installation of the gadgets amidst job losses, industry closures, high levels of unemployment and poverty.
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“We think the disadvantages of pre-paid water meters far outweigh their envisaged advantages. We will be meeting residents, inviting them to join us in the campaigns and marches ahead of a big rally set for September 4 at Stanley Square.”
Dube, who is also the executive director for Bulawayo Agenda, said the rally would be addressed by civic society leaders.
Bulawayo mayor Martin Moyo recently told Southern Eye that council would not be intimidated into dropping plans to install pre-paid water meters.
Civic groups argue the gadgets will cause water-borne disease outbreaks in poor communities and also leave the poor without access to the precious liquid.
The Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association said research on the introduction of pre-paid water meters in many parts of Africa revealed the gadgets led to an outbreak of cholera in Madlebe in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
They said it also led to loss of life and seriously undermined the right to water in many poor parts of Africa.
