Climate Change ‘dries out’ Harare City’s Precarious Water Situation

Clutching a plastic container, Mazvita Musakwa, 16 trudges along a dusty pathway that leads to a community borehole in Kuwadzana.It is 5am and the 16-year-old has woken up early to fetch water before she can prepare for school.She has not seen water for nearly a week and this community watering hole is her only hope.Families here can only dream of taking a cold shower as taps run dry.At the community borehole, a fight erupts as a middle-aged man tries to jump the queue.He is whisked away by borehole marshals who also demand bribes if anyone wants to fetch more than five buckets.This is a daily occurrence here as Harare’s water woes continue to bite the residents.“I have to wake up around 4am daily to fetch water for daily chores. This is my daily routine which I cannot miss. My younger siblings cannot fetch water, so I have to do it myself,” Mazvita tells 263Chat.For teenage girls like Mazvita, the daily water needs have affected her school as she is always late.At the watering hole, abuse is often rampant as the marshals demand sexual favors for water.“This water crisis is affecting women and the girl child. Some take advantage of our desperation to propose love and when you refuse you suffer for it. This is not right, the government must intervene,” Mazvita said.