Court Challenge Seeks to Halt Harare Prepaid Water Meter Rollout
- Chipo Basira
- 16 Jun, 2026
Court Challenge Seeks to Halt Harare Prepaid Water Meter Rollout
The High Court will consider an urgent application to suspend Harare’s prepaid water meter programme after a city resident argued the rollout violates existing municipal by-laws.
Bernadette Makaya, represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, filed the application against the Minister of Local Government, City of Harare, and Helcraw Water, the company installing the meters. Makaya wants the court to stop the programme immediately and direct the city to amend its by-laws before introducing prepaid billing.
Court papers state that the Harare Water By-Laws of 1913 and the Urban Councils Act only provide for post-paid billing, where residents are invoiced after water use.
Makaya’s legal team argues the city acted unlawfully by launching prepaid meters without a supporting legal instrument, in breach of the Administrative Justice Act.
Makaya said a prepaid meter was installed at her Sunridge, Mabelreign home earlier this year.
The system requires residents to purchase water credit upfront. Supply cuts off automatically when credit expires, with no written 24-hour disconnection notice as required under Section 61 of the by-laws.
The meters also do not provide statements of water consumption, which the by-laws mandate.
The prepaid units operate like electricity tokens. Residents buy credit, load it onto a meter housed in a locked box outside the property, and lose supply when units run out.
Resident groups supporting Makaya argue the city should focus on infrastructure failures instead.
Harare has struggled for years with burst pipes, leakages, and illegal connections that cause widespread water shortages in suburbs.
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