By TellZim Reporter
Residents of Duma in Bikita have called upon the Bikita Rural District Council to prioritize developing a proper sewer reticulation system and servicing residential stands in its 2026 budget.
During a recent council budget consultation meeting, the Bikita Residents and Ratepayers Association (BIRRA) emphasized the urgent need for these essential services. BIRRA representative Komberi Mungazi warned that the absence of both sewer infrastructure and clean water poses serious health risks to the community.
“Our request to council is to consider the provision of a clean water system and proper sewer reticulation in Duma. These are essential to safeguard public health. Council should also ensure that stands are fully serviced before they are sold, to prevent the continuation of these challenges,” said Mungazi.
In a separate interview with TellZim News, an anonymous resident echoed these concerns, revealing that only limited areas in Duma have access to clean water and sewer systems.
“Only the houses built in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly in the old Duma location and the area near the chief’s hall, were properly serviced. About three-quarters of the new stands in Duma still lack these basic amenities,” the resident said.
The resident explained that most people rely on unregulated wells and Blair toilets, creating severe risks of groundwater contamination.
“We dig our own wells if the water table is accessible, then build Blair toilets at the back of our homes. Some residents have managed to drill boreholes, while a few get water from ZINWA’s temporary lines. But the situation is alarming as people can be drinking contaminated water, because there is no regulation on the placement of wells and toilets,” said the resident.
Residents are now appealing to the council to take decisive action in the upcoming budget to address these long-standing service delivery gaps, which they say have been neglected for too long.
The issue of parceling out unserviced stands has become common among many local authorities and land barons. Masvingo’s Victoria Ranch suburb residents recently submitted a petition to the Parliament of Zimbabwe, calling for an urgent investigation and intervention into the deplorable state of social service delivery in their area, which also lacks basic infrastructure including piped water, sewer systems, and refuse collection services.
Residents rely on boreholes which are not regularly testedand eco-san toilets that have become unsanitary and dysfunctional. The petitioners urged Parliament to treat the matter with urgency and compassion, given the humanitarian and constitutional concerns raised, and to establish a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Inquiry into the developmental status of Victoria Ranch and similar settlements nationwide. They also called for immediate interventions to provide clean water, sanitation, refuse collection, borehole testing, and road grading.
