BCC mulls re-introducing pre-paid water meters

Zim Now Writer

The Bulawayo City Council has said it is considering re-introducing pre-paid water meters, especially in the Central Business District and the industrial area.

The council said the process could contribute to curbing non-revenue water, particularly in areas that do not experience water shedding.

Engineering Service Department Engineer Acting Director Sikhumbuzo Ncube said the pre-paid water meters will force ratepayers to pay for water before consumption.

He also said the process would account for water losses.

“Continuous supply of water would be a pre-requisite to have a properly functional pre-paid meter with minimum disruptions hence the pilot project in areas where there is constant supply of water.

“As we shed water in the city, we do have areas where we do not shed, such as the CBD, our health care facilities such as our central hospitals Mpilo and UBH.

“It would also reduce technical glitches that might result in non-continuous flow of water that comes with the shedding programme,” Ncube said.

Ncube added that they are learning from councils like Gwanda on how the pre-paid process works so as to be aware of the challenges and also successes that they could encounter.

The project is being re-introduced in the city after it failed to take-off in 2019 as the process proved to be expensive due to discrepancies between foreign and local currencies at the time.