By Anyway Yotamu
Members of Parliament have hailed Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a vital mechanism for driving infrastructure development and improving essential services following a tour of Helcraw Water collaborative project with the City of Harare.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government and Public Works, Maxmore Njanji said the partnership between Helcraw Water and the municipality demonstrated the potential of PPPs to transform service delivery particularly in the water sector.
“As a committee, it gives us great pleasure that meaningful progress is being made toward ensuring clean and reliable water supply in Harare. We look forward to seeing more PPPs established across the country,” Njanji said.
He added that during the first and second sessions of the Tenth Parliament, the committee had investigated water access challenges in Harare and Bulawayo ultimately recommending partnerships between local authorities and private players such as Helcraw.
Njanji, who represents Mazowe Central said ensuring reliable water access in the capital was critical to achieving Vision 2030, the government’s target of becoming an upper-middle-income economy within the decade.
Helcraw Water Chief Executive Brendon Jere said the company had developed a long-term plan to tackle Harare’s water woes.
“We have come up with a sustainable, holistic solution to address the city’s water challenges. Working with the City of Harare, we will replace burst pipes over a 500-kilometre stretch, install prepaid meters in serviced areas, and rehabilitate Morton Jaffray Waterworks to expand capacity. Residents will soon see water flowing in areas that have gone dry for years,” Jere said.
He added that the project aligns with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 which envisions universal access to safe, potable water.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume welcomed the collaboration describing it as one of the city’s flagship PPPs aimed at improving urban services through shared investment.
“The private sector is a crucial partner in our service delivery toolkit. This arrangement allows us to redirect more municipal resources to other critical projects and improve the overall quality of life in our city,” Mafume said.
The Helcraw–City of Harare partnership is expected to serve as a model for future PPPs nationwide as Zimbabwe seeks innovative ways to bridge infrastructure gaps and modernise public services.
