A Sunway City resident has petitioned the City of Harare for clarification over the continued lack of municipal tap water in the suburb, where residents say they have endured close to 20 years without supply.
Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi, of Sunway City in Harare, wrote to the local authority on 13 August 2026 seeking answers regarding the provision of municipal tap water to the area, which he described as an unacceptable situation.
The letter was addressed to Acting Town Clerk Warren Sean Chiwawa and copied to the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe MP, and Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume.
“This is not a recent interruption or temporary breakdown. For almost two decades, residents have lived without the basic municipal water service they should reasonably expect from their local authority,” wrote Mutisi.
“Families have been forced to depend on boreholes, water deliveries, storage tanks and other costly alternatives simply to meet their daily water needs.
“This situation cannot continue indefinitely.”
Mutisi is demanding that the City of Harare provide a clear written response explaining why Sunway City has gone for almost two decades without a municipal tap-water supply.
He is also seeking details on what plans the City has to connect the suburb to a reliable municipal water network, what infrastructure or engineering works are required to deliver the service, and whether Council has allocated a budget for the necessary works.
He further wants a definitive timetable for when the project will commence and be completed, as well as an outline of what interim measures Council will put in place to support residents while a permanent solution is being implemented.
Mutisi said it was concerning that residents have continued to occupy and develop properties in Sunway City while the provision of such a fundamental public service remains unresolved.
“Water is not a luxury. It is an essential requirement for human life, sanitation, public health and sustainable communities,” he said.
“A city authority cannot reasonably expect residents to continue paying rates and other charges while denying them access to one of the most basic municipal services.
“I am therefore requesting that the Town Clerk stop treating this as an ordinary service delivery complaint and provide residents with a concrete engineering and implementation plan for bringing municipal water to Sunway City.”
Mutisi, an engineer by profession, is demanding full disclosure of the City’s technical proposal, from the source and transmission infrastructure to pumping requirements, storage capacity and the distribution network required to service the development to an adequate standard.
“Residents deserve more than promises they deserve a date when they can turn on their taps and expect water to come out,” Mutisi said.
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