Sewage poses health risk

(The sewage pipe causing uproar between ZINWA and town council)

In March this year, the government ordered ZINWA to relinquish control of water and sewage to local authorities. Since then, debate over the broken sewage pipe has raged. Residents have expressed their concern over the raw sewage being discharged from the pipe into a nearby gully where a river flows. The river is in close proximity to two primary schools, Gokwe School and Muyambi School.

ZINWA should solve this problem because they are the ones in charge of sewage. They must not charge us and then refuse to provide a service. This is a serious health disaster because these kids cross the gully every day to go to and from school, said Elta Machingura.

Raw sewage has been discharged in the gully for a long time, said another resident. We wonder what the authorities are doing about the issue. We had a serious cholera outbreak last year which emanated from this problem.

Gokwe acting town secretary, Tapiwa Marongwe, said the town council had no responsibility for sewage.

We are not responsible and neither are we to blame for that pipe which broke some years back. What we have tried to do is negotiate with ZINWA over water and sewage after the government told ZINWA to give water and sewage to local authorities, and ZINWA refused.

Morongwe said he understood that ZINWAs refusal to hand over control of water and sewage was related to money.

ZINWA Sanyati catchment area manager, Chengeto Gozo, said Gokwe town council should maintain the broken sewer pipe because it owns sewage in the area.

All sewage in Gokwe is owned and controlled by the council and it is supposed to maintain the said sewerage pipe. Its unfortunate that people are now at risk over the flowing sewage, but we strongly believe its the town councils responsibility, said Gozo.