adminTHE provision of clean and safe drinking water is a basic human right as enshrined in our new Constitution. What it means is that local authorities, by virtue of collecting rates from households, must ensure that residents are supplied with clean water at all times. Failure to provide adequate supplies is therefore a breach of the very tenets of the supreme law of the land.
It is a gross violation of human rights which must be viewed as criminal.
Countrywide, local authorities are failing to provide clean water.
Mutare, despite having perennial supply of water from Pungwe and Odzani water works, is failing to supply because of a restricted conveyance capacity caused by small, aged and dilapidated pipes.
Elsewhere in this issue we carry a story of a suspected fresh typhoid outbreak in Mutare with four alleged cases reported by Tuesday in the city.
Typhoid is a water-borne disease.
This alleged outbreak comes at a time when there are thousands of families who have illegally settled themselves on un-serviced residential stands without water and sanitation services.
Although Provincial Medical Director, Dr Patron Mafaune, said they were still investigating the cases, the obtaining housing situation in Dangamvura high-density suburb where families have settled at the Gimboki South Housing Scheme and the Federation project leaves a lot to be desired in the face of this threatening reported outbreak.
For the record, these families have dug Blair toilets and are getting water from unprotected sources along the sewage-polluted Sakubva River.
Those without toilets have resorted to the bush system to relieve themselves.
This situation will degenerate into a crisis when rain falls because there is no garbage collection to talk about.
It is a ticking time bomb whose adverse effects will only be realised if there is an outbreak of diseases there.
It is not wise to reflect back and try to figure out what caused this at this point in time because time is running out.
The responsible authorities must act fast and ensure the safety of families housed there.
Adjacent communities, which are fully developed and have access to sanitation services, are not spared from events that might happen next door.
In most cases typhoid outbreaks in the cities are caused by water shortages.
We urge the municipality to take the provision of water seriously and ensure that each household has something coming out of the water taps.
The situation in Mutare is different from other cities because water is abundant.
What is lacking is an upgraded water distribution system with big pipes that will be able to adequately supply required quantities.
At present, the pipes that are supplying water to households in Mutare were lined decades ago when the city was still small with a handful of citizens.
That system has not been upgraded to meet contemporary demands.
It is our considered view that our city fathers should sit down and prioritise the provision of clean water because the city will witness no meaningful development when it’s dry.
Online Reporter