Old roofs nightmare

RESIDENTS in some of the oldest suburbs in Bulawayo are a facing serious crisis of leaking rooftops worsened by rains that leave the decades-old asbestos sheets damaged and easily blown away — exposing several families to weather elements and loss of property.

Some of the affected rooftops are 60 years old and affected areas include suburbs such as Sizinda, Mabuthweni, Old and New Lobengula and Mzilikazi, among others.

The Bulawayo Fire Brigade, together with the Civil Protection Unit, are overwhelmed by reports of cases of damaged old rooftops, which they cover using canvas sheets to temporarily protect affected families.

The emergency service has said their resources are now stretched and have appealed to residents to promptly fix the damaged rooftops so that new cases can also be attended to. The rainy season has seen the Fire Brigade attending to rooftops blown off by gusty winds nearly every week.

Yesterday, the Chronicle spoke to families in Sizinda suburb that have been living in homes whose roofs were blown off at the beginning of the year.

Mrs Valerie Ncube said her family is grateful to the Bulawayo City Council for fixing her roof that was damaged by the rains on January 7.

“The roof was damaged on January 7 and our property was damaged by the rains. The Fire Brigade assisted us by covering the damaged roof with a canvas and now the city council is repairing the damaged roof.

“We are grateful to the city council for doing the repairs. Our only concern is that rains also damaged electricity poles and we are appealing to Zesa (Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) to assist us,” said Mrs Ncube.
Sizinda was one of the worst affected areas with more than 20 roofs damaged by the rains. Mr Nqobani Tshuma said the roof at his house was damaged in late December last year and he has been trying without luck to replace the broken asbestos sheets.

“The type of asbestos sheets are no longer available at hardware shops and I have searched in over 20 outlets with no luck,” he said.

“I am now considering replacing the entire roof with new asbestos sheets but it is very expensive.”
In Mabuthweni suburb, Mrs Nomalanga Sibanda said they were forced to replace the entire roof of her three-bedroomed house after winds caused extensive damage two years ago.

“The original house was over 50 years old and when I extended the property I changed the whole roof with metal roof sheets,” she said.

“The only problem is that the metal roof sheets make a lot of noise when it rains,” said Mrs Sibanda.
Ward 21 Councillor Tinevimbo Maphosa, whose ward covers a portion of Tshabalala and Sizinda suburbs, said his area was the most affected due to the state of houses and flats that are now very old.

“We must understand that houses in Sizinda are very old. So, the roofs are prone to getting damaged when it rains. The Fire Brigade attended to several incidents where roofs were blown away and now that council is repairing them, my plea is for elderly residents to be considered first,” he said.

“The area in Sizinda where there are flats was the most affected and the canvases that were put up by the Fire Brigade are still there. We hope that the repair work that is being done by the council will be done before the start of the winter season,” said Clr Maphosa.

Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairman, Mr Winos Dube, echoed the same sentiments and suggested that the elderly be given priority by the council as the roofs are fixed.

“Council must take advantage of the rains that have stopped to repair the damaged roofs and consider the elderly and those with financial challenges first,” he said. “Some of the affected residents are old pensioners who cannot afford to repair the damaged roofs themselves.

“Some residents suffered serious financial losses as their household properties were damaged by rainwater and we hope the council will move faster and repair the damaged roofs in the shortest possible time,” said Mr Dube.
An official from Turnall Holdings Limited, a company that manufactures various types of asbestos sheets, said customers can bring samples of the damaged roof sheets to their offices in Bulawayo’s industrial area and have the products made for them.

“We still have the capacity to manufacture any type of asbestos roof sheets, even the one from some of the oldest suburbs in the city. All customers need to do is bring the samples to our offices and their orders will be delivered,” said the official.
Fire Brigade chief fire officer, Mr Mhlangano Moyo, said the emergency services were overwhelmed with distress calls of residents mainly in old suburbs reporting that their roods were damaged by rains.

“We have now run out of canvasses to cover damaged roofs as some residents have not repaired the blown-away asbestos sheets in over five months,” he said. “Covering the damaged roof sheets with canvas is supposed to be a temporary measure and we expect to hand over the canvasses in the shortest period but that is not always the case,” said Mr Moyo.

He cited an example of homes at Ntabazinduna Flats in Mzilikazi suburb that have had damaged roofs covered by canvasses since October last year.

Last month, Chronicle reported how heavy rainfall caused flooding in parts of Bulawayo, with several houses and roads in the city affected by the downpours.

In areas such as Entumbane, some houses have flooded as some residents reportedly refuse to open weep holes in their walls.
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) constantly issues weather advisory warnings of hailstorms and cold conditions due to a shift in weather patterns.

The weather agency has urged members of the public to avoid crossing flooded rivers and to take necessary precautions during thunderstorms.