In Zimbabwe, control over water is supposed to be decentralised. In other words, the seven regions in the country have the authority to govern their own water resources in the way that best suits their needs.

In each region, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority works with a catchment council and sub-catchment councils, village committees and water user associations to decide how water should be managed.

Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe all allocate power and responsibility over water governance to local communities. This allows communities to make important decisions about water without needing to involve the central government in every step.

During the colonisation of Zimbabwe, Black communities were marginalised by the white government and had little influence over the management of water. This makes decentralisation of water even more important.

I research the governance of natural resources, particularly water governance and post-colonial African policies in southern Africa. My research looked at how political interference prevents communities from controlling their own water resources in Zimbabwe.

I interviewed water experts and lawyers who work in water governance, and reviewed newspaper and journal articles and books on water governance in Zimbabwe.

I found that Zimbabwe’s attempts at decentralising water governance have not been fully implemented. This is because of resistance from the ruling party, Zanu-PF, which fears losing control over water. The result is that community participation in local water systems is undermined.

Ineffective management of water does not only prevent people from having clean drinking water. It also hinders economic productivity in rural communities that rely on smallholder farming.

These problems can only be solved if water is less of a political issue. It must be placed in the hands of communities and skilled technicians. The Zimbabwe government also needs to upgrade and maintain water infrastructure.

What went wrong

At independence in 1980, Zimbabwe inherited an uneven and colonial society. This extended to its water-governing policies. The 1976 Water Act had linked water to land ownership, skewing water provision in favour of the white minority. This law was only repealed in 1998, nearly two decades after independence.

The 1998 Water Act created the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to develop, manage and use water resources in co-operation with local associations.

However, this never happened, for various reasons.

• Decisions that favoured the ruling party were imposed on local communities, and there was political interference in the local water committees. Grassroots organisations could have organised strong community participation in water committees, but they were undermined by political interference.
• Disputes broke out between the ruling party and opposition parties in areas where the opposition was in power locally. Opposition leaders have accused the ruling party of withholding funds that could be useful in treating water and upgrading infrastructure in areas.

For example, 50 people died of cholera in November 2023 in Chitungwiza, on the outskirts of the capital city, Harare, after days without running water.

• Before independence from white rule in 1980, water was segregated and Black communities in cities and rural areas were not always supplied with clean, running water. The post-colonial government did not entirely change this. For example, the government failed to invest in upgrading rural dams and the Kariba Dam, built by the colonial government in the 1960s, which generates energy for both Zambia and Zimbabwe. City populations have grown but water networks have not, so there are water shortages.

This poor water management, combined with climate change-induced droughts and the El Niño phenomenon, has caused problems for humans and the economy. Today, Zimbabwe is caught in one of the worst droughts in living memory. The Kariba Dam’s water levels have dropped dramatically. This has caused severe power cuts in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Rural, smallholder farming areas such as the Mudzi district, in the far eastern part of Zimbabwe, have no water in their dams. They’ve experienced large scale crop failures this year as a result.

Solutions

My research has found that several steps are needed to solve Zimbabwe’s water crisis.

Invest in water infrastructure: The government has to provide the necessary financial support to communities for upgrading infrastructure. This includes purchasing chemicals to treat water, and upgrading water monitoring systems.

Remove political interference in water supply: Independent water experts should oversee decentralisation of water resources without being influenced politically.

Devolve and decentralise power: Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution provides for central government powers and functions to be given to provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities. Political will is required to actually do this.

Empower communities through stronger institutions: Zimbabwe’s centralised system hampers strong local organisations. Independent institutions are important in empowering communities.

Make government transparent: The government, both at central and local government level, must release financial reports that reveal how much money has been earmarked for water projects. Local communities must take part in drawing up budgets. This way, communities will know how much money is being dedicated to water resources.

Gwinyai Regis Taruvinga, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of the Witwatersrand

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