Redcliff Without Water

The town of Redcliff, in Zimbabwe’s midlands, has been without any running water for over a week now as a result of failed payments by neighbouring town KweKwe.

Redcliff, that is home to around 35 000 Zimbabweans, gets their water supply from neighbouring KweKWe. However, KweKwe recently had to cut off supplies (including running tap water) to Redcliff because they could not pay their bills.

According to a Redcliff town official, KweKWe charges Redcliff $160 000 per month for running water. However, the Redcliff officials could only manage to collect around $30 000 from its residents.

Benedict Moyo, a Redcliff resident, recently spoke to reporters giving them some insight on the situation in Redcliff:

“…[sic] We have been without water for more than a week now…The council has asked residents to contribute $10 each to pay off the debt to Kwekwe but may have failed to pay because they don’t have the money,”

He also alleged that KweKWe charges way more for Redcliff residents than their own residents for the same amount:

“…Kwekwe charges its residents 17 cents for water but charges Redcliff 85 cents for the same amount,”

The KweKWe water council has not made comment on the issue.