The dealers are getting water from Nyatsime River near Unit L cemetery, a source that is also used by traditional healers and members of the apostolic sects for their cleansing rituals.
Tafara Muto, 29, from Unit L said he was aware of the water dealers who drew water from the river in the early hours of the morning using unmarked vehicles.
Stembile Kanjanda from Unit L said she initially thought the water was for other purposes besides consumption until she witnessed one of the dealers delivering the water to an unsuspecting customer in her neighbourhood.
“They draw the water at night because they do not want residents to see that they are the same people selling the water to them claiming to sell borehole water,” she said. Efforts to get a comment from George Makunde, Chitungwiza Town Clerk were futile.
Several residents who spoke to The Zimbabwean confirmed that they buy water from the dealers because it is cheaper than the water sold by registered dealers. “It is a cheaper but I have never considered its health implications because I only assess it using my naked eye,” said Langton Padzarondera from Unit P in Seke.
Tinashe Kazuru, Chitungwiza Residents Trust Board Secretary, called on the city fathers to improve in service delivery especially the provision of water but said it was the responsibility of citizens to ensure that they drink water from trusted sources.
Eve Gadzikwa, Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) director general, is on record saying that several water dealers do not meet the required standards.
Galdencia Nyambo from Unit A said a bucket of water was now fetching at least SAR2 and water was brisk business for the unemployed. In 2008, Zimbabwe experienced a cholera outbreak that killed over 4,200 people as the capital’s water and sanitation crisis worsened.
Post published in: News