ZwNews Chief Correspondent
Residents in Harare suburbs that include Budiriro, Kuwadzana, Glen View, Mufakose, and Highfield, are currently living in fear of contracting cholera and typhoid, following the rate at which sewer bursts are occurring, unabated for that matter.
Their fears are premised on the fact that cholera recently claimed more than 30 lives, with the City of Harare, Ministry of Health investigations revealing that erratic water supplies, burst sewer pipes, and use of unprotected water sources, as the risk factors propagating the outbreak.
To heighten the fears, Harare is still officially in the ‘cholera risk mode,’ as indicated by the banning of various gatherings. In stopping several convergences of people including the recent banning of a MDC-Alliance function; the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) cited cholera risk as the reason for not allowing the party to carry out its gatherings.
However, though the ban was condemned by some quarters as only cheap politicking, after several gatherings were allowed to proceed, for residents in from the suburbs in question, their lives are really in danger of contracting the water borne disease, due to the fact that the factors that led to the outbreak in the first place are still prevailing, if not worse.
Meanwhile, the Harare Residents Trust (HRT) says the recent cholera outbreak should have been taken seriously by the relevant authorities as a wake-up call to address the causing factors, by providing portable water to residents, and attending to sewer bursts on time.
“The rate at which Budiriro, and Glen View residents are experiencing sewerage bursts is so disturbing and scary at times. Everyday residents in the areas make reports and the worrying factor is that the local authority does not attend to such reports on time.
“Despite the cholera outbreak in these areas, sewage is still flowing in these areas,” says HRT in its service delivery update, released recently.
The update which is produced fortnightly by the Trust seeks to monitor and evaluate the provision of basic social services by the authorities, after touring the above areas, and other selected suburbs in the Harare Metropolitan Province.
Be that as it may, according to the city authorities, they are doing their best to address various issues of service delivery, but at times face resources constraints, due to a number of reasons owing to the prevailing economic challenges. The City of Harare with the help of the ZRP, recently engaged in a blitz against street vendors in an effort to restore sanity in the Central Business District. The vendors who vowed to stay put in their only sources of income, stand accused for allegedly engaging in activities that include selling foodstuffs in unhygienic surroundings, and as such promote the spread of water borne diseases.
