Harare’s rotting core — A city that serves sewage, breeds potholes, and calls it “world class”

I wrote this article on the 29th of March 2026 at exactly 09:38hrs — not because I had nothing better to do, but because what is happening in Harare has crossed from incompetence into outright insult.

Let’s not sugar-coat it. The so-called City of Harare is fast degenerating into a case study of how a city collapses while those in charge pretend everything is under control. It has now earned a nickname on the streets.— one that is crude, yes — but painfully accurate: the “shit of Harare.” And frankly, reality has caught up with the name.

We are constantly fed this tired dream that Harare will achieve “world-class city” status by some ambitious target year. World class? On what planet? Because here on the ground, the only world-class thing about this city is the sunshine. And let’s be honest — sunlight is the only service we can confidently say still works. It’s God-given. If it were up to the City Fathers, even the sun would come out on a rationing schedule.

On this day, I stepped into the bathroom expecting nothing more than a quick, ordinary bath. What came out of the shower was not water. It was an assault. Thick, murky, foul-smelling liquid — something closer to juice than water. Calling it “dirty” would be generous. It looked and smelled like raw sewage.

And the most disturbing part? This is not an isolated incident. It is not a faulty pipe in one house. It is a city-wide crisis. Residents across Harare are experiencing the same horror — opening their taps to what should be life-giving water, only to be met with what could very well be a health hazard.

What does the City Council do? Nothing. No statement. No warning. No apology. No urgency. Just silence.

This is not just negligence — it is dangerous. People are being forced to choose between bathing in contaminated water or not bathing at all. Drinking water? That has now become a gamble with diseases like cholera and typhoid lurking in the shadows. And still, not a word from those responsible.

Then there are the roads — if we can still call them that. Harare’s roads have become obstacle courses. Potholes are no longer occasional annoyances; they are the defining feature of our streets. Sinkholes lurk like traps, threatening vehicles and lives alike.

And in what can only be described as peak absurdity, the same authorities who have allowed this decay now proudly announce a toll-free number for residents to report potholes. Report them? You don’t need a hotline — you need eyesight. Throw a stone in any direction and you will hit a pothole. It is not a hidden problem. It is the problem.

This “initiative” is not a solution — it is a mockery. It shifts responsibility from those paid to maintain the roads onto the very citizens already suffering from their failure. It is governance by denial.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Police — popularly known as vanamahobho vekanzuru — have become more visible, not in service delivery, but in what increasingly feels like street-level revenue collection. Motorists are stopped, harassed, and squeezed for money under the guise of enforcement. The city may not fix your road, but it will certainly find you on it — ready to collect.

This is where priorities lie: not in clean water, not in safe roads, not in public health — but in extracting what little is left from already burdened residents.

And through it all, one thing is glaringly absent — communication. Leadership is not just about action; it is about accountability. A simple statement acknowledging the water crisis, explaining the cause, and outlining corrective measures would at least show awareness. Instead, we are met with silence that screams indifference.

Harare is not failing because problems exist. Every city has challenges. Harare is failing because those entrusted with solving these problems have normalised dysfunction. They have made mediocrity comfortable and turned crisis into routine.

So the question remains: when will the City Fathers wake up?

Because right now, this is not a city on its way to world-class status. It is a city where sewage flows from showers, roads swallow cars, and leadership hides behind silence.

And no amount of sunshine can hide that rot. *_-Masvingo Mirror_*