Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
GARANYEMBA Clinic in Gwanda District has been hit by a serious water crisis forcing members of the local community to supply water to their sick relatives admitted at the clinic.
Most parts of the ward have been experiencing water challenges which have persisted for years. The situation has also affected Garanyemba Primary and Secondary schools.
The area is generally dry and efforts to drill boreholes have been fruitless. Community leaders said there is a need for a long-lasting solution to their problem.
A Chronicle news crew visited the area recently where community members pointed out that they had to dig up water from Phendi River and take it to the clinic for their sick relatives.
Eight villages rely on Garanyemba Clinic. The construction of a mother’s shelter at the clinic has reached final stages.
Ms Elizabeth Moyo from Nsimbi Village said the water situation is affecting mostly expecting mothers.
“We have a serious water problem here at the clinic such that we have to collect our own water. This problem is mostly affecting women who would have delivered as they require a lot of water,” she said.
“Some people come to deliver at the clinic and their relatives don’t come to visit them. In such cases as community members, we have to chip in and assist.”
Garanyemba Clinic health centre committee chairperson, Mr Gezani Dube, said the clinic was now relying on sand abstraction, and in the past few months, they have not been able to draw water due to a low water table.
Mr Dube said various organisations have unsuccessfully made efforts to drill boreholes at the clinic and in the surrounding community.
“Water is a serious problem here. Efforts have been made to drill boreholes but without luck. We eventually decided to get water from the Phendi River through sand abstraction,” he said.
“As a community, we used a development levy that we were getting from the local authority to work on this project. A pump was installed in the river and pipes were installed but the challenge that we have is the prolonged dry spell and the pump can no longer draw water as the water levels are now low,” he said.
“It’s been almost a month since the clinic received water. We are now forced to instruct patients to bring their own water. The clinic staff also collect their water from the river.”
Mr Dube said the activities of sand poachers were also affecting the level of sand in the river which was in turn affecting the water levels.
Garanyemba village head, Mr Mkhubo Ndlovu, said people from the area were struggling because of the water problems. He said it is risky for people to drink water from unprotected sources.
Mr Ndlovu said it will be difficult to have the clinic’s mother’s shelter operating properly without water supply.
“We shouldn’t be having a situation whereby nurses and patients dig up water from the sand. It’s unhygienic because animals also drink the same water. This problem has persisted for a long time and as we speak the mother’s shelter at Garanyemba Clinic is now complete but it won’t operate properly without a reliable water supply,” he said. —@DubeMatutu
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