Cholera outbreak

CHRA has confirmed that the name of the deceased is Gerald Gunzo and he passed away yesterday after a short illness.  

Glen View is one of the areas that have been hardest hit by the water shortages in Harare. The suburb had gone for more than three weeks without water supplies, a situation that has seriously compromised the health of residents and exposed them to cholera and other related diseases. The CHRA Vice-Chairperson and Coordinator for Glenview Ward 30, Ms Beatrice Ngwenya said that the water situation in Glenview had become so bad that residents were now resorting to unprotected water sources. Most residents are fetching water from a shallow well that is along Willow Vale Road. Some residents who have boreholes at their homesteads are even selling water at about $5 000 for every 20 litres.  

Residents have also complained that the little water provided by ZINWA is usually muddy and contaminated with algae. The residue that can be seen by the naked eye has been abundant in water. The Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital has received more than 20 cases of cholera and affected areas include Budiriro, Mbare, Dzivarasekwa, Highfields and Glen Norah.  

CHRA is deeply concerned with the worsening water situation in Harare which is posing a serious threat to the lives of residents. The Association has always made its position clear that the water and sewer reticulation systems in Harare can only improve if ZINWA is relieved of its duties. The water utility has dismally failed to deliver quality water services to residents and the ZANU PF defacto government has deliberately buried its head in the sand. Residents have raised an outcry against the incompetence of ZINWA but, in spite of the raw sewerage that litter most high density areas in Harare and the persistent water cuts, the defacto government has continuously failed to take responsibility for the residents’ suffering. Instead the government is now chiding the parastatal for its incompetence and is encouraging ZINWA to engage other stakeholders so that the administration of water and sewer reticulation services can be improved. The government has even gone to the extent of blaming the donor community for not doing enough in helping residents whose lives are in danger due to the water crisis. Such utterances and behavior by a government that claims to be for the people and by the people are disappointing to say the least and they leave a lot to be desired.  

The defacto government should stop the blame game and admit that it made the wrong decision in allowing ZINWA to take up the mammoth task of providing water to residents. Residents blame the government for the cholera outbreak in Harare. ZINWA should never have been brought into the administration of water and sewer services. The water situation in Harare was far much better during the time when the City of Harare was in charge. What irks residents is the fact that they were not even consulted when ZINWA took over the administration of water and sewer services from the City of Harare. Residents are suffering because of the misguided Cabinet decision on the ZINWA takeover. CHRA maintains its position that ZINWA must be relieved of its duties and the administration of water and sewer services must be returned back to the City of Harare.