Rusty doors, cracking walls and dripping Rhodesian water pipes are a common feature, while worn-out paint, falling roofs, broken water basins and walls that have been turned into political party advertising complete the picture.
“This is a clear sign of negligence on the part of the city council; Mbare Musika is the central trading point for many people. Imagine how many people visit the toilets here yet they are rarely cleaned,” said Tsungai Zimba, a vendor at Mbare Musika.
In most of the toilets the flushing system is broken and the there are no toilet seats.
“There is no privacy in these toilets. It is embarrassing for us as women. There are no disposal bins and in some cases no running water in the toilets. If these dire conditions persist, another cholera epidemic might erupt any time soon,” said Viola Nyoni, a hairdresser at a hair salon in Mbare.
“But I can also put the blame on toilet users, we are the ones who use the toilets yet we leave them dirty. Some women are just inconsiderate. If the rubbish bin is not provided, why not find other means to trash the pads? We also have a part to play in keeping the toilets clean,” added Nyoni.
Five years after the disastrous cholera plague in which over 4,000 people died, the former Sunshine city’s water woes persist and garbage still goes uncollected, worsening residents’ fears of a possible repeat of the plague.
Mbare residents have been reported to be defecating in plastic bags and buckets as the suburb has gone without running water for the past three weeks. Every morning for more than a fortnight residents empty buckets filled with human waste in the Mukuvisi River and other open spaces due to the dried-up water taps. Most toilets in the flats are filled to the brim with human waste. Some residents are saying they are now wrapping their excretion with plastic papers and throw them into the streets or any open space, while others are taking advantage of the rainy season to relieve themselves in the nearby fields.
“As a result of the recurring water shortages we now have resorted to the most desperate and shameful ways of relieving ourselves when nature calls since the sewer systems are dysfunctional as a result of the perennial water woes. Our greatest fear now is that our children might contract diseases as they play on the streets dotted with human waste,” said Pricilla Jonasi from Matapi flats in Mbare.
The City of Harare has struggled to provide adequate and clean drinking water and service delivery and for many suburbs for more than a decade.
In low-income suburbs such as Budiriro, Kuwadzana, Glen Norah, Glen View and Warren Park long queues at the Unicef boreholes have become the order of the day, with children as young as five years mingling in the quest for clean water to drink.
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba is on record saying that the Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda should resign because of his failure to run the city. He also accused the city fathers of fabricating petty excuses for not prioritizing the provision of clean water, and has urged them to seek assistance from government and humanitarian organizations.
“The City of Harare wants to portray an image of success – butthey have dismally failed to provide water to residents. They need to provide water bowsers to areas where water supplies are erratic and non-existent. We are advocating that the mayor steps down as he has dismally failed. They have failed to upgrade the infrastructure and to improve water sources,” said Mr. Shumba.
Urban planning expert Percy Toriro is on record saying that city planners foresaw the water challenge many years ago.
“They proposed that Kunzvi dam (east of Harare) be built starting around 1996 so that it could begin to supply water by 2000. If one traces when we started facing critical water shortages, it was about the projected time. In fact when some of us see the current situation, our surprise is not that we now face water challenges, but that we have as Harare managed to come this far without a solution. We never imagined we could go up to 12 years after the turn of the century without a solution to a problem foreseen in the late eighties and early nineties,” said Toriro.
Post published in: News