Glenview Residents Petition Harare Mayor To Save Community Borehole

Residents of Glenview in Harare have petitioned Mayor Jacob Mafume to stop the planned demolition of a public borehole that serves more than 2,800 people in the area.

The appeal comes in response to a 48-hour removal notice issued by the City of Harare, which ordered the clearing of the borehole site to make way for four residential infill stands. The council cited “illegal occupation” under municipal by-laws.

The borehole, drilled in 2019 under the Presidential Borehole Scheme, remains the community’s primary source of clean water in an area already grappling with severe shortages.

No alternative water source has been proposed, despite Glenview being one of the high-density suburbs in Harare prone to deadly cholera outbreaks.

In a petition signed by 280 residents and submitted to the mayor on Wednesday, the community urged the council to form a special committee to review the land allocations and assess how many boreholes could be affected by the planned housing development. Part of the petition reads:

“The Petitioner beseeches the Harare City Council to establish a Special Committee pursuant to Section 100 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), conduct an investigation into the allocation of infill residential stands in Glen View, determine the number of boreholes that will be affected, and provide recommendations to mitigate the water supply issues that may arise from the removal of the boreholes.”

Residents warned that demolishing the borehole without providing an alternative water source would violate their constitutional right to water and could spark another public health crisis in the cholera-prone suburb.

They also questioned how stands approved in 2024 could overlap with a borehole installed in 2018 and upgraded in 2025, calling it a sign of poor planning and possible corruption.

The petitioners further demanded that the City of Harare hold a public meeting and release documents showing whether the land was properly allocated before the borehole was drilled.

More: NewZimbabwe.com

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