By Thandiwe Garusa
HARARE mayor Jacob Mafume has claimed that the city council’s tap water is clean and safe to drink saying it meets World Health Organisation (WHO) standards despite most suburbs in the capital receiving dirty, smelly and often pitch-black coloured water.
Responding to questions from journalists Tuesday after being asked why the tap water comes out smelling like sewage if it is clean and safe for consumption, Mafume said Harare City Council gives clean, treated water to residents every day.
“Let us not be dramatic, we give hundreds and thousands of people water every day and they use it. I know that because when normal water schedules in different areas drop, I receive phone calls and WhatsApp messages that today we do not have water.
“So we know that our water is coming out clean and safe and when the quality changes, we know there has been a compromised pipe and that affects the quality of water.
“We give treated water to residents so our water is tested on a daily basis using World Health Organisation standards. The water coming from our taps is safe for human consumption and we treat the water that comes from Lake Chivero and Manyame thoroughly to ensure that we do not put water that is harmful to the residents,” Mafume said.
Meanwhile, thousands of fish, and four white rhinos, along with other wildlife and livestock, have perished after consuming water from the same Lake Chivero that was contaminated with cyanobacteria.
Harare City Council has on numerous occasions bemoaned the lack of funds to purchase water purification chemicals.
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