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| Source: BBC News |
This is a short post just to draw attention to this BBC news article that I found last week. You can read the article here:
The reason I draw attention to it is that it covers both themes from my last post on inequality as well as points towards my next planned post on the private/public water provisioning debate.
The article, by Shingai Nyoka is titled 'Zimbabwe water shortages: 'I don't remember taking a shower'. It looks at the current water situation for people in Zimbabwe's capital Harare.
The key issue stated in the article is that the public water provisioner, Zimbabwe National Water Authority, 'lacks funds to treat water and has also been unable to maintain its ageing water pipes'.
More affluent areas of Harare, water tankers are able to provide for homes. However the high costs mean only the richest can access this.
The article states: 'The same volume of water from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority would cost just 10% as much - if it was actually available'.
The article therefore points to problematics associated with both public and private water provisioning as well as the issue of inequality.
The article also points to 'bottom up' private entrepreneurship, with the case study of Anna Malikezi who wakes early to get to the water pumps and then sells it to her community. This brings in another dynamic to the private/public debate and pulls on some ideas expressed by a recent lecture we had from Tatiana which pulled from Business in Development literature.
After reading this I may well use Harare as a main case study in my next post.
