Chronicle Editor
That Bulawayo has a long history of water shortage goes without saying.
However, council has handled that challenge in such an exemplary manner that a number of local authorities across the country have drawn lessons which they have adopted to effectively manage their own water scarcities.
The city’s water shedding exercise, though extremely painful for residents, is largely managed smoothly. Water supply is discontinued as scheduled and reconnections are done on time.
In many water-shortage towns and cities, water-borne diseases frequently pose an additional headache but for Bulawayo, the lack of water hasn’t translated into dirty water running out of taps, sickening residents who consume it.
Those records look under threat with reports that five people have died in Luveve suburb of diarrhea which residents blame on dirty council water that they had consumed. The five – four children and one adult – had been admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital complaining of acute stomach pains. Fifty nine more people had been admitted to the same hospital by yesterday.
We quote Acting Mpilo Central Hospital clinical director Dr Xolani Ndlovu elsewhere on these pages saying tests conducted so far show that the residents are not typhoid or dysentery-positive, just diarrhea.
“We’ve done tests for typhoid or shigella that causes dysentery but so far the results that we have received are negative of both diseases. We have communicated this information to director City Health Dr (Edwin) Sibanda. They are also running their tests on the water to find out what could have been the problem so that we know what caused the diarrheal cases. The Bulawayo City Health can respond to what they found in the water,” he said.
We urge council to expeditiously conclude the tests and release the results so that people are clear whether the local authority’s water is safe for human consumption or not. This will enable consumers to take appropriate action, on time. Depending on the results, residents can decide to continue consuming the water or start by boiling it before consuming it.
As we await the results of the tests, we are encouraged by council’s decision to waive user fees at clinics for diarrheal cases as well as ambulance fees in case there is need for patients to be taken to hospitals. Amid the economic hardships that have been worsened by Covid-19 restrictions, some residents might not have enough money to pay for health services at council clinics or to pay for an ambulance to get them there.
Without money, some might decide to try home remedies, in doing so losing valuable time. The waiver of user fees should get more people suffering severe stomach aches to seek medical treatment as quickly as they should so that they don’t suffer or lose their lives unnecessarily.
We hope that the local authority has communicated to Luveve residents that should they experience stomach pains, they can call an ambulance and be transported to their local medical facility for free and be treated at that facility free of charge.
In addition to waiving user fees at clinics and ambulance charges for residents suffering from diarrhea, council has exempted Luveve from the ongoing city-wide six-day water cuts. This ensures that they have running water all the time.
Pending the release of the results, all the residents of Bulawayo, not just those of Luveve, must make it a point that they boil council water before they drink it. If they cannot boil it for one reason or the other, they can try to add water treatment tablets into their water before they consume it.
These are important precautionary measure residents must take because no one knows if council water is safe to drink or not. Also, no one knows which suburb would be hit next by diarrhea if indeed council water is unsafe to drink as Luveve residents assert. It can be Cowdray Park, Emakhandeni, Burnside or Hillside next, thus residents across the city must exercise due care before consuming tap water.
Online Reporter