By Beatific Gumbwanda
CHIREDZI-United Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (UCHIRRA) together with Public Information Rights Forum recently petitioned Parliament over poor service delivery by Chiredzi Town Council.
The two organisations called for the parliament to exercise its oversight role and protect the constitutional right of Chiredzi residents to clean and portable water as enshrined in the constitution.
“The petitioners beseech the Parliament of Zimbabwe to exercise its oversight function and protect the constitutionally guaranteed right of Chiredzi Residents to water and sanitation by enquiring into the situation in Chiredzi.
“To inquire into the usage of resources procured from residents of Makondo Extension, considering that they paid an additional US$900.00 for land servicing that included provision of water and sanitation and accessible roads and yet till now service has never seen the light of the day since 2013.
“To inquire on water production and distribution infrastructure to ascertain whether it meets the current and future demand since there has been no significant upgrading since 1957 in Chiredzi urban and to also inquire why the water treatment plant is still being run by Hippo Valley Estates and why there is no sewerage reticulation in Makondo High Density 10 years down the line,” reads the petition.
Chiredzi Town Council is alleged to have created an environmental disaster in Makondo Extension, where people were allowed to construct houses without proper sewerage infrastructure which later prompted the construction of septic tanks in the high density suburban.
In Ward 5, Magwaza area, residents have gone for decades without clean and portable water as they mainly rely on salty boreholes.
“Chiredzi residents, Ward 5 Magwaza area, Ward 7 Mai Joe area, Ward 8 Makondo, layby and Joina City as well as Ward 2 Shineplus area have been effectively deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed right to water, which has affected their right to life, the right to human dignity, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, environmental rights, the right to education, and the right to health care.
“Further, more than 3500 housing units seating on 300 square meter stands are relying on septic tanks and Blair toilets. To complicate the matter, residents have drilled boreholes and wells on their stands which are highly contaminated due to their proximity to the Blair toilets and pit latrines,” reads the petition.
Makondo Extension is currently prone to flooding due to the land saturation with septic tank water which is highly likely to lead to loss of property in case of floods.
Hippo Valley Estates in running Chiredzi Town Council’s 10 megaliter water treatment plant at a cost recovery basis.
With the growing population of Chiredzi Town Council, residents are calling for upgrading of the water treatment plant as the newly connected Melbourne Park Residential Estate and the Lowlands Residential estate are drawing water from the same small treatment plant which will led to portable water disasters.
