ZwNews.com
In its bid to monitor and evaluate the provision of basic social services by different service providers in communities, the Harare Residents Trust (HRT) produces a fortnightly Service Delivery Update, which highlights the experiences of residents and the status of service delivery in a given community.
The main focus is around waste management, electricity supply, and representation by elected representatives, social accountability and the general welfare of the residents.
Compilation for the period ended 31 May 2019, was done by HRT Community Coordinator, Alexio Majiri;
Refuse Collection- In Kuwadzana Extension, Ward 44, refuse is normally collected on Thursdays. During the period under review, the refuse truck rarely came. When it came, there was no warning to residents to take out their bins. This has led to increased number of dumpsites in the community.
Some streets like Musavezi, Manyasha and Nyanyadzi have never seen refuse collection trucks. The following are the most well-known dumpsites in the area which need immediate attention:
Car park opposite City of Harare sub office
Last shopping centre popularly known as Kunoperera ma combi.
Residents are given plastic bins once in every three months but those who are in arrears usually are refused bins until a payment plan has been arranged. The City of Harare needs to revisit this policy because it will continue to pose serious challenges in the community.
There are no street lights in the area have been installed despite the fact that the main road must have street lights. Two people have already been attached and robbed, when crossing Bulawayo Road from Glaudina before 8pm. This place has become a deadly spot for robbers. On 31 May 2019 they waylaid a motorist, smashed his windscreen and robbed him cash, mobile telephones and laptop.
Tower Lights- There have never been tower lights in this community, but, the following places are ideal for tower lights. Area of City of Harare sub office, clinic area, and at the three shopping centres in the area.
Sewage- There are a few streets which experience frequent burst pipes:
Right turn just before call boxes, first left turn towards Kuwadzana 8 Primary School.
Council officials repair these areas almost every month and they associate these bursts to old sewer underground pipes which were not changed when the exercise was instituted in the area a few years back.
Health- The service at the clinic is good though except for the fact that they are short staffed, hence long queues and patients have to wait up to one hour during weekends. There are only five nurses out of the required twelve to run the satellite clinic. The fees are of RTGS$ 5 for adults and three dollars for children under twelve years, which are affordable to many.
There is only one satellite clinic in the whole of ward 44 (Kuwadzana Extension and Herbert Chitepo Cooperative). Usually there are no drugs at the clinic, even pain stop tablets, one has to buy a card, get prescription and buy prescribed medication from one of the three pharmacy shops at Sifra shops.
The satellite clinic though is complimented by two backyard clinics (one at 11406) and a surgery. They charge exorbitant prices but offer payment plans for proven residents of Kuwadzana Extension.
The whole community does not have a maternity ward and women have to go to Kuwadzana 2 clinic for maternity check-ups and delivery.
Education- There is only one council primary school (Kuwadzana 8) and one council secondary school (Kuwadzana 3) in the area. The fees for both schools are affordable at RTGS$ 46 per term for primary and RTGS$75 for secondary. The enrolment fees are very high of RTGS $150 for every new pupil at any stage. The primary school has an enrolment of plus or minus three thousand pupils given a teacher pupil ration of 1:50 on average and the secondary has a ration of 1:28 on average.
The primary school produced second best Grade Seven results in Harare last year (2018). There are also numerous backyard colleges in the area and they are taught by unqualified teachers, threatening the quality of education. The councillor at one time when he met the people told residents to be careful not to destroy their children’s future by enrolling them in these backyard colleges which charge less than twenty dollars a month.
Security- The community of ward 44 has no police station but rely on a police post/ base which is rarely manned. It was going to be better if there are police officers at the police post. Most complainants are referred to Kuwadzana 2 Police Station, some five kilometres away. most cases in the area are; robbery, abuse, domestic violence involving mainly wife beatings, and motor vehicle thefts.
Electricity- through the HRT, electricity reports are now being dealt with immediately, in less than two hours of reporting. The area has prepaid meters and residents are comfortable with them except for long load shedding hours of eleven hours every day. The most depressing trend is that residents do not actually know when they would be having electricity in advance because the load shedding is erratic.
Transport- The area is about twenty-six kilometres from the city centre and during peak hours transporters charge up to RTGS$5 and during normal hours the fare goes down to RTGS$ 2. There are some ZUPCO buses to assist ferry people to and from town and they charge the gazetted price of fifty cents per trip but the first bus is at seven o’clock in the morning and it takes almost one and half hours to complete a single journey into town because of traffic. This forces most people to then use the more expensive commuter omnibuses.
Representation By Elected Representative- Ward 44 which comprises of Kuwadzana Extension and Herbert Chitepo Cooperative is represented in Council by Resius Masunda as the councillor and Miriam Mushayi as the Member of Parliament. Miriam Mushayi sits in the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government. She usually holds three feedback meetings per year, though this year she has not done so.
The councillor has held a number of budget consultative meetings where the following issues were discussed; Road maintenance, Refuse collection, City of Harare annual budget, Payment of bills and other service delivery issues.
Development- The councillor has constructed a bridge linking Kuwadzana Extension and Stone Ridge and he leads the monthly clean-up campaigns which are held as part of the national programme. Credit must be given to his initiative approach to clean borehole areas in the community, which he does regularly with some local youths.
Source: Harare Residents’ Trust
