Harare sitting on a health time bomb as refuse piles
BRINCHANG 23 MARCH 2018. (Actionline) Uncollected rubbish that has piled up in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands causing concerns. NSTP/courtesy of reader.
HARARE — Waterborne diseases are brewing in Harare due to the failure by the municipality to collect refuse and attend to sewer bursts which have not only become an eyesore but a health time bomb in most high density areas.
In a snap survey conducted by CHRA this week areas such as Mufakose, Highfields, Mabvuku, Tafara, Glen View, Budiriro are grappling with unattended sewer bursts and uncollected solid waste becoming an order of the day.
City officials in Glen View highlighted that they were unable to attend to the sewer bursts due to lack of equipment. “We can’t attend to the bursts because we do not have the rods for sewer chokes, the one set of rods we have has been sent to Mufakose” said a city plumber stationed at Glen View.
In Mabvuku residents have made a makeshift sewer pond after the City failed to fix a perennial sewer burst at corner Mashingwe and Chizhanje with residents resorting to open defecation in maize fields because their toilets are now unusable because they are flooded with sewer.
“We need to urgently conduct all stakeholders that will include development partners operating in the area in order to come up with a collective intervention the situation can go haywire anytime if we continue watching” said Mr Chikoti a Tafara resident.
The situation is worse in Glen View where sewer is now gushing out from toilets flowing into houses. “This is unbearable we are stuck, we have reported this to the municipality but there have been a lot of excuses from the municipality to repair these bursts”, charged Vimbai Nyachuru CHRA Ward 32 Coordinator.
The City center has not been spared as piles of uncollected waste are heaped at Charge Office Bus terminus and behind First Street Police Post.
The situation also comes at a time when there are machinations to sweep the issue of 15 undelivered refuse trucks under the carpet which were purchased by the City in 2015 at a cost of US3,1 million.
Harare City Council claims that they are failing to collect refuse due to lack of refuse trucks , however there has been no efforts to claim the 15 refuse trucks purchased from Mass Breed Investments and the Ministry of Local Government has remained mum on the issue.
CHRA has petitioned Parliament of Zimbabwe on the issue of the 15 undelivered refuse trucks in a bid to cause an investigation on the issue. — CHRA on Facebook.
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