Story by Panashe Nagoli
HARARE residents have welcomed the rollout of the smart water metering programme in the capital, saying it has improved the accuracy and transparency of the City Council’s water billing system.
The initiative, implemented over the past few months in collaboration with the central government, aims to address longstanding concerns over the estimated billing system previously used by the local authority. Residents report that the new system has made water charges fairer and more predictable.
A snap survey done by this news crew revealed that residents are excited by the consistent water supply brought by this development.
“The advantage of these meters is the accuracy they bring because the estimations that the council was using all this time were sometimes unfair, so we are happy,” a resident said.
According to Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume, the city loses an estimated 60 % of treated water before it reaches consumers, but that is set to change, as this initiative will encourage better accountability.
“The days of irresponsible water usage are over. We are happy that this new system will also help us to accurately bill clients and improve the water supply statistics,” he said.
In November 2026, Helcraw Water, the city’s partner in the programme, delivered 20 000 prepaid water meter systems to the Harare City Council. Once fully rolled out, the initiative will help the local authority to accurately measure consumption, curb losses, and improve revenue collection.
