Chronicle Editor
Angela Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
Bulawayo City Council has come under fire for failing to address a spate of burst sewer pipes in most suburbs at a time when the city has started recording cases of diarrhoea.
The situation is compounded by prolonged water cuts after council recently adopted a 72-hour water shedding regime, citing pumping capacity constraints, including power cuts, which the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company vehemently dismissed.
Despite early reporting to council offices, disgruntled residents say city officials take too long to respond, thereby exposing them to waterborne diseases.
Among the affected suburbs are Nketa, Nkulumane, Makokoba, Old Magwegwe and Old Pumula where residents said overflowing sewage has become the new normal.
Last week, Tshabalala recorded about 157 cases of diarrhoea, which was suspected to be a result of burst sewer pipes that resulted in sewage coming into contact with treated water.
In her 2020 report, Auditor-General Mrs Mildred Chiri named Bulawayo among six local authorities at risk of outbreak of water-borne diseases that could lead to deaths due to failure to manage sewer reticulation systems.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old, and is responsible for killing around 525 000 children every year.
In an interview, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (Bupra) executive chairperson, Mr Ambrose Sibindi said council repairs only last for a short time.
“Some of these sewers are attended to and repaired but it only lasts for a day or two and we are back to square one,” he said.
“At the end of the day, other places are getting more attention than others due to constant repairs.
“We were made to believe that the council was doing something about this problem but from the look of things, there is no progress.”
A concerned resident from Makokoba, Mr Ishmael Moyo, said they have learnt to live with raw sewage each day and were now helpless.
“This is now a part of us. We report these sewer bursts and council comes and fixes them but after a few days we go back again and report and council takes time to respond,” he said.
Some residents have vented their frustrations with council on social media platforms where they share pictures and videos of raw effluent from their yards and along access roads.
Ward 7 councillor where Makokoba lies, Mr Shadrach Sibanda, said the major challenge with raw effluent was due to the ageing infrastructure, which needs urgent replacement.
“The problem is that places like Makokoba are old locations and the pipes have outlived their lifespan. Therefore, the only way to fix this problem is by replacing the pipes,” he said.
“But for council to be able to do that will involve destroying the houses and rebuilding them. Given the economic hardships, council doesn’t have the capacity to do that right now.”
The city first recorded its first diarrhoea outbreak in June last year, which claimed 13 lives in Luveve suburb.
Council last year also confirmed that the water infrastructure was over 50 years old hence continued poor services.
Continued sewer bursts have proven to be a threat to people’s lives at a time when residents are battling with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Online Reporter