Obey Musiiwa
Herald Reporter
HARARE City Council Water Department has apologised in writing for failing to secure a deep pit along Macnaughton Road towards Lytton, admitting that the lapse exposed members of the public to a potentially life-threatening hazard.
In a letter dated October 9, 2026, addressed to Zanu-PF shadow legislator for Southerton Constituency, Cde Andrew Makahamadze, Acting Director of Water, Engineer Richard Kunyadini, said the city accepted full responsibility for the serious lapse.
The council stated that the pit had remained open for several days while it awaited an appointed supplier’s work on a pipe redesign and the delivery of replacement sections.
“We sincerely apologise for our failure to secure the site promptly,” the letter read in part.
The local authority noted that the incident fell short of the standards expected of the city as it works towards Vision 2030. It also admitted that instructions issued after the Budiriro incident in June—in which three people died after falling into an uncovered sewer pit—had not been fully implemented.
“Following the Budiriro incident, clear instructions were issued for all open pits to be filled and secured. We understood that these instructions had been fully implemented,” the letter said.
The council requested an opportunity to address the matter through its internal disciplinary processes before any further legal escalation, promising “appropriate disciplinary action” to prevent a recurrence. It confirmed that the pit has since been properly backfilled and secured, removing the immediate danger to the public.
Cde Makahamadze, who is also the Zanu-PF DCC 6 secretary for business, said the council’s reference to the country’s national goals was a positive acknowledgement.
“If someone just mentioned the President, His Excellency Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s vision, and the country’s Vision 2030, that is a good thing,” he said. “We cannot fight people who have embraced the vision of the party, the vision of the President and the vision of the nation.”
