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Municipal Reporter
UNDER the MDC Alliance watch, service delivery in the capital city Harare has plummeted to an all-time low with residents having to make do without basics such as water, while refuse go for weeks on end without being collected.
In most suburbs, raw sewage flows freely on the streets, exposing the ratepayers to commutable diseases such as typhoid and cholera, especially as the rainy season looms.
Apart from failing to provide basics, the city fathers have turned a blind eye to burst water pipes, with treated water going to waste daily while residents, who are paying their monthly dues, go thirsty.
A month-long survey by this publication across the city showed that service delivery was on a freefall with southern suburbs being the worst affected, while in some suburbs the high-heeled have sunk boreholes to beat the water woes.
In the city centre, where the local authority is supposed to collect refuse at least twice a day around hotspots such as Market Square Bus Terminus, the corner of Charter Road and Rezende Street and Copacabana Bus Terminus, garbage collectors only turn up after two days, and rarely do they do a thorough job.
In Kuwadzana, Warren Park, Kambuzuma the council spent nearly the whole month without collecting refuse unlike in the past where it would do the rounds at least once a week. The same sorry tale exists in almost all of the capital city suburbs.
Sewer bursts were also the order of the day, with streams of sewage running for weeks with no attention from the MDC Alliance-led council in areas such as Dzivaresekwa, Kambuzuma, and parts of Budiriro.
The city also lost unaccounted megalitres of treated water from burst pipes along Chiremba Road around OK Mart premises and at the corner of Emmerson Mnangagwa and Arcturus roads in Highlands.
Erratic water supplies were also experienced across the city. Combined Harare Residents Association Mr Reuben Akili said in terms of refuse collection, the situation on the ground is bad, especially in high-density areas.
“We call upon the city of Harare to comply and follow its refuse collection timetable,” he said.
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme yesterday said the increased water and sewer bursts were as a result of improved water supplies.
“Water delivery is actually improving as shown by the number of burst pipes in areas that were previously not getting water. Sewer bursts are also proof that there is water delivery.
“We are seized with the repairs to ensure all the treated water gets to consumers. We are happy with the progress and enthused with positive reports from residents commenting positively on municipal water,” he said.
In terms of poor refuse collection, Mr Chideme said: “We still have challenges with garbage collection because of garbage collection trucks. We are, however, working tirelessly to resource refuse collection fleet”.
Online Reporter