According to the Harare Residents Trust (HRT), several parts of the city are going without water. Areas worst hit include Greendale, parts of Glenview, Highfields and Borrowdale. The organisation quoted the Harare City Council who said it would be shutting down the main water works in order to carry out maintenance. On Tuesday HRT co-ordinator Precious Shumba said residents had been without water for over a week and the situation has not changed.
“With the recent history of cholera outbreak in Harare and across the country which claimed 4,000 people, the fears are much alive in the minds of many residents who fear that a continuation of this situation will most likely cause disease outbreak and cholera is an immediate concern,” Shumba explained.
“Residents are having to recycle water that has been used for baths, using toilet water to do other household chores, which inconveniences a great number of people, particularly those with the sick, bed-ridden; those with kids are finding it extremely hard to be surviving under these difficult circumstances,” he explained.
People who rely solely on the Council for water are stranded. “They have not had in place bowsers in the community. Areas like Kuwadzana Extension have no single borehole to help them, Glen Norah has only one borehole which has to cater for the whole community,” Shumba added. “This puts pressure particularly on women and children who have to wake up very early and inconveniences a lot of people who would want to be using latrines and do their laundry.”
Another resident in Mufakose said they are relying on just one borehole.
Zimbabweans are constantly kept in the dark by government departments over vital issues that affect their lives. Shumba said instead of the City Council alerting residents of the water problems through district offices, it merely placed a notice in the Herald newspaper, which many people in these areas cannot afford. ‘Most of the people are trying to eke out a living and can’t afford to buy a newspaper which is $1. Harare City Council has continued to undermine the district offices,’ Shumba said, adding that the district offices could have put up such information on notice boards, which are accessible to all.
Harare City Council could not be reached for comment.
Post published in: News