Chronicle Editor
Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
A HEALTH crisis in looming in Bulawayo as piles of garbage continue to stack up in most sanitary lanes in the city centre, forming breeding grounds for diseases and vermin.
Sanitary lanes are designed to provide leeway for service vehicles such as delivery and garbage collection trucks, but the situation in the city has become an eyesore.
Vermin that include rats, flies and mosquitoes breed in rubbish piles.
When they come into contact with human beings or food, they may transmit bacterial diseases that include salmonellosis, skin infections and tetanus.
They are also capable of causing viral diseases like trachoma, hepatitis A and gastroenteritis as well as parasitic diseases that include hookworm, threadworm and roundworm.
The homeless are also taking advantage of the sanitary lanes that are not closed off to the public in the city centre to defecate and urinate in them. The lanes are also being abused by street kids who burn garbage and use them as toilets and sleeping areas.
Prior of the lockdown, prostitution and drug trade were some of the anti-social activities which took place there.
A Chronicle news crew moved around the city centre yesterday and observed that downtown sanitary lanes are some of the worst affected due to the high concentration of people operating in the areas.
The news crew also noted that in a bid to manage sanitary lanes at their buildings and keep out intruders, some owners installed security gates.
Mr Bruce Langton, a city businessman who operates a bottle store in the city centre, said he was forced to install a gate after noting that streets kids and vagrants were turning the lane into a health hazard.
“Streets kids and vagrants are a problem. They used to take advantage of the sanitary lane behind the building where I operate a bottle store and defecate. Due to the shortage of toilets in the city centre, some people are using alleys for toilet purposes so I decided to put up the gate which has since solved my problems,” he said.
Ms Bridget Moyo, a resident at a city flat said: “Sanitary lanes have been turned into an eyesore by people who are homeless. I have seen some of these people burning cardboard boxes to warm themselves and they also defecate in these areas, which is a health hazard for us as residents.”
She urged council to enforced by-laws to make it mandatory to gate all sanitary lanes in both business and residential buildings in the city centre.
Bulawayo City Council spokesperson Mrs Nesisa Mpofu attributed the piling of garbage in sanitary lanes to the local authority’s inability to collect waste on time due to few refuse compactors.
“Council is considering engaging private players to assist in clearing sanitary lanes as soon as the modalities are worked out. A weighbridge is also being installed at the Richmond Landfill site and as soon as it is done it may be easier to engage private waste collectors who will be paid on tonnage,” she said.
“Waste is deposited along these lanes by our street sweeping teams and while awaiting collection by compactors, some people may rummage through the garbage looking for valuables and, in the process, scattering litter causing unsightly scenes despite that it would be in plastic bags and tied up.”
Mrs Mpofu also accused residents of dumping waste in sanitary lanes urging them to utilise refuse bins provided by the local authority.
“We have some unscrupulous residents who deliberately block sanitary lanes, be it in the city centre or residential areas. This causes a lot of pollution, she said.
Refuse collection in Zimbabwe is governed by Environmental Laws and Urban Councils Act., Public Health Act and Municipal by-laws [Bulawayo (Refuse Removal) By-Laws, 1977. Bulawayo (Public Health) By-Laws, 1969.-@mashnets
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