Water and sanitation issues continue to plague residents in the Zimbabwean capital Harare. The issues are chiefly due to a lack of funds. The country has received a loan from China's Exim Bank. But only part of the funds have been disbursed so far, leaving several rehabilitation projects behind schedule. CGTN's Terry Wangari has more on that story.

The capital city of Zimbabwe has been grappling with water treatment for years. Harare was awarded a 144 million dollar water and sanitation rehabilitation facility by China's Exim bank. The city has so far only received 72 million dollars and is waiting for disbursement of the balance to enable it to boost its treatment capacity to finalize rehabilitation projects.

BERNARD MANYENYENI OUTGOING MAYOR OF HARARE "The loan will continue to attract and justify stakeholder interest. The city awaits disbursement of the remaining amount to enable the contractor to proceed with the works. The reserve bank of Zimbabwe has set aside 2.5 million dollars per month for water treatment chemicals that we need and this is a very positive development and will ensure steady supply of the chemicals."

Although Harare's raw water supply has improved due to rains and repairs to water pipe networks, the city is still struggling with rampant pollution from waste dumping. Purification of water and the finalization of rehabilitation works at treatment plants are a priority now. The problem of clean water has been a thorn in Harare's side for years. The city needs to act in order to curb the spread of water borne diseases. Cholera and typhoid, have hit the city on a number of occasions due to the scarcity of treated water. TW, CGTN.