By Municipal Reporter-Residents of Harare are bracing for yet another dry weekend after the City Council announced a shutdown of water supplies across several suburbs due to a major pipe burst at the Warren Control water distribution centre.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 18, Acting Town Clerk Engineer Phakamile Mabhena Moyo said the system had been temporarily shut down to allow engineers to assess, clean, and repair the damaged pipeline. Two other burst pipes along the network will also be attended to during the same period.

Suburbs set to be affected include Tynwald, Southerton, Eastlea, Hillside, Braeside, Milton Park, and even Parirenyatwa Hospital — one of the country’s largest referral health facilities. The Central Business District (CBD) is also expected to experience severe disruptions. However, some high-density suburbs in the western parts of the city — such as Glen View, Budiriro, Kuwadzana, and Mufakose — will remain unaffected.

Mabhena Moyo urged residents in affected areas to use water sparingly until repairs are completed.

This latest shutdown adds to Harare’s long-standing water woes, which have plagued the capital for decades. A toxic mix of ageing infrastructure, corruption in procurement, poor planning, and political interference has left millions of residents without reliable access to clean water. The city’s water system, originally designed for a population of fewer than half a million people, now serves over 2.5 million — with little to no significant investment in infrastructure upgrades.

In recent years, tender scandals involving the procurement of water treatment chemicals and pipe maintenance contracts have further crippled the city’s ability to provide consistent service. Residents often go for days — sometimes weeks — without running water, and when it does come, it’s frequently contaminated and unfit for drinking.

Waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera have become endemic in some suburbs, with health experts warning that continued neglect of the water infrastructure poses a serious public health threat. Attempts by donor organisations to assist have been frustrated by political turf wars between the opposition-led council and central government agencies aligned to the ruling ZANU PF party.

This weekend’s shutdown is a reminder of the capital’s fragile infrastructure and the urgent need for structural reforms and transparent, well-managed investment in the city’s water systems. Until then, Harare’s residents remain trapped in a cycle of crisis management, filling buckets and tanks in anticipation of the next dry spell.