By Moses Ziyambi
There is no hope for tenants of the filthy Mucheke hostels with authorities engaged in endless ‘discussions’ on how to deal with the dilapidated flats that have been condemned as unsuitable for living.
The hostels were condemned late last year with Mayor Hubert Fidze promising a revamp of the ablution facilities to prevent possible health crises but nothing has been done yet.
Tenants of the hostels say they have lost hope of any improvement in their living conditions since things are going from bad to worse.
“We feel neglected despite the ticking health time bomb that we see here. The toilets are not properly working and our own rooms are not in a good state,” said Ndakachinyei Mazvigadza, a tenant at the hostels.
“We have since erected some makeshift barricades in the gents’ toilets to prevent people from accessing them to avoid messing them up further,” she said.
Most tenants have pleaded with council to give them ownership of the hostels so that they can make improvements on their own.
Mary Mutizwa said she fears an outbreak of contagious diseases like cholera if nothing is done to resolve the situation.
“Our children are at risk, we are at risk. Everybody is at risk. They just care about our monthly rentals and nothing else,” she said, accusing council of reneging on promises to do renovations.
Town Clerk Adolf Gusha said discussions on how to deal with the problem are still ongoing.
Town Clerk Adolf Gusha
“The problem at the hostels is that the sanitary facilities there have been made to serve a population beyond their designated capacity thus the breakdowns,” said Gusha.
“We are discussing the options on the way forward and that includes demolishing the hostels and replacing them with better structures as was done in the ‘R’s section of Mucheke.
“We also can’t transfer ownership of the hostels to the tenants in their current state. Council will have to overhaul everything first on its own account then transfer ownership them if they can prove they can repay the cost,” said Gusha.
He could however not give any timeline on when that would be done. local
