Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
RESIDENTS of Rusape are trapped in a stinking crisis as raw sewage floods their homes and street, with Rusape Town Council employees refusing to act without direct payment by the affected parties.
In Vengere, a densely populated suburb, streets are awash with sewage, posing a dire health risk to residents, prompting council workers, who have gone for years without adequate pay, to cash in on the crisis by demanding up to US$10 from residents to fix blockages, with no receipts issued.
The situation has sparked outrage, with residents pleading for urgent action to address the crisis.
As the stench of sewage wafts through homes, residents are left wondering when their council will prioritise their health and dignity.
The presence of raw sewage in the overpopulated high-density area poses a dire health threat.
Stagnant wastewater breeds disease-carrying vectors like mosquitoes and flies, contaminating water sources and food.
The residents face heightened risks of cholera, typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoeal diseases, spiral of skin infections and respiratory issues. Vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly, are most at risk, as poor sanitation fuels a cycle of illness and poverty.
While the local authority’s response to the crisis remains unclear, but residents are demanding immediate action to restore their basic human right to sanitation.
A resident of Mabvazuwa, Bishop Cosmas Mamombe, said residents feel cheated as they are levied sewer charges by the council, but are not receiving the services unless they pay bribes to council employees.
“Rusape Town Council is now taking more than two weeks to attend to sewer bursts. Sewage is flowing past people’s houses, forcing residents to succumb to privately paying council employees for them to attend to the blockages. Council is losing revenue that should be directed to their coffers. If this is not promptly addressed, residents will not find the reason to pay bills because when they need help from council, they are not getting it.
“All this is being caused by non-payment of salaries by council to its employees, and it is now impacting on service delivery to the residents. The issue of burst sewer pipes is over and above erratic refuse collection, and all this is exposing residents to unhygienic conditions, coupled with outbreak of diseases,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from Rusape Town Council chairman, Councillor Lovemore Chifomboti, were fruitless.
However, in a public statement, RTC spokesperson, Mr Leonard Makumana confirmed that the local authority had received complaints from residents being manipulated to pay bribes for council employees to attend to issues.
The council urged affected residents to pay their bills at designated offices and be issued with receipts. It clarified that residents are only billed for blockages on private premises.
“Rusape Town Council wishes to inform its valued residents and stakeholders that we have noted with great concern that some council staff are demanding payment for the unblocking of sewer at individual properties regardless of the position of the blockage. We are receiving numerous complaints from residents with regard to this anomaly.
“Council wishes to put the record straight, it is the mandate of council to unblock sewer blockages in its area of jurisdiction particularly when the council line is choked, no payment should be requested. However, if the council line is flowing smoothly and the blockage is within the owner’s property system then council charges a fee which should be paid to any council cash point, and not to individual council staff. A receipt should be produced according to the current/prevailing budget for each given year to unblock the system. Any rogue requests feel free to report to council,” reads the public statement in part.
RTC has failed to regularly and adequately remunerate its employees for the past three years, forcing them to seek court intervention to compel the employer to fulfill labour obligations and clear arrears totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The local authority last paid its employees in full in August 2023, leaving them disgruntled, demoralised, and struggling to survive.
The non-payment of salaries has led to a severe decline in service delivery, with emergencies such as sewer and water bursts not being promptly attended to, causing suffering among residents and ratepayers.
According to the case pitting Mr Joseph Chikunguru and others v Rusape Town Council (Case No. TY/20/25), a certificate in terms of Section 98(13) of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01) was issued on November 24, 2025 by Labour Arbitrator, Mr Munyaradzi Chandakaita, ordering the bankrupt local authority, to pay all its employees their full salaries and benefits.
This follows an application by the workers, represented by Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), demanding that the council pay its members.
Following the issuance of the award by Mr Chandakaita and RTC’s reluctance to pay its workers, the local authority risks the attachment and disposal of some of its assets and properties.
Additionally, the council is accruing mounting legal costs defending lawsuits from employees and other creditors.
