Council turns Chivero into deadly pool

THE Harare City Council was once again in the news last week, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

For the umpteenth time, the city fathers proved to be the wizards of waste and muck after “successfully” turning Harare’s primary water source, Lake Chivero, into what can only be described as a sewage lagoon.

In a display of ghastly environmental negligence that would make even the most seasoned ecologist weep, the local authority decided that the best way to deal with the city’s sewage was not through treatment, but by pumping it directly into Lake Chivero.

This “brilliant” strategy has led to what can only be called an environmental disaster of biblical proportions.

A serene lake once teeming with life is now a grim green soup of dead fish and enough stench to make a skunk blush.

Fish are floating belly-up, rhinos, zebras and other creatures have met their untimely demise after a sip of this toxic brew.

The council, in its infinite wisdom, has essentially turned Lake Chivero into a giant, noxious cocktail, complete with a dash of cyanobacteria for that extra deadly twist.

But wait, there is more!

Not content with merely killing off the local fauna, the council’s actions are now posing a grave hazard to the very people it is supposed to serve. Harare residents, who rely on this lake for their drinking water, are now playing Russian roulette every time they turn on their taps.

Imagine, if you will, the horror of knowing that your morning cup of tea might just
be infused with a hint of sewage, courtesy of the city council’s disregard for basic
sanitation. Confronted over this catastrophe, the city fathers have been quick to point fingers at everyone but themselves, claiming that industry, informal settlements and even Mother Nature herself are to blame.

But let us call a spade a spade, or in this case, a sewage pipe a sewage pipe.

The city fathers have had years, decades even, to address this issue, but, instead, they have chosen to treat Lake Chivero like their personal waste disposal unit.

Instead of rolling out plans to address the sewage crisis, the mamparas at Town House are probably drafting another budget for luxury cars and countrywide trips.

In their view, why fix a crumbling city when you can sip imported coffee while gazing at the chaos from a cushy office?

To be clear, the disaster at Chivero is not just about loss of wildlife, though tragic.

It is about human lives.

This is about a basic municipal duty that Harare City Council has utterly failed to fulfil.

This is about turning a deaf ear to the cries of a city choking on its own waste.

Once again, the Harare City Council has truly outdone itself.

Here is to hoping that the authorities at Town House find a shred of competence — or at the very least, a sewage treatment plan — before Lake Chivero becomes the next “Dead Sea”.

In the meantime, the residents of Harare will be holding their noses and holding out hope for a miracle.