Fredrick Moyo
Gweru- Residents in Mkoba 4 suburb are crying foul over the city fathers approach towards burst pipes as raw sewer has been flowing into the streets for more than three months without being attended to, making it difficult for them to stay under the harsh conditions.
Subsequently, raw sewage has filled all drainage systems, trenches and spilling onto the streets exposing residents to excrement, bad smell and health risks.
Speaking to TellZim News, a resident only identified as Tawanda said the smell is really bad and affecting them and city council is doing nothing about the issue and ignoring their plea.
“The sewage has been flowing for over 4 months and we have filed many reports to council but we are now tired as the city fathers are not taking any action to repair the burst pipes.
“The smell of excrement is hanging all over the neighbourhood, we are no longer enjoying our meals as families with the bad smell. Imagine people have to cook and eat in such an environment. We are at high risk of diseases here, our children are playing in the sewage exposing them to diseases,” said Tawanda.
Another resident who commented anonymously shared the same sentiment saying the burst pipes are now attracting flies and urged council to address the problem as a matter of urgency.
“Our children are exposed, they cannot even play outside because of the sewage flowing all over and we now have to deal with flies,” said the resident.
Munyaradzi Phiri said cholera and typhoid will wipe them away if council does not act swiftly to the issue.
“We have been encountering burst sewer pipes for years and if this problem is not addressed, cholera and typhoid will wipe the residents as the sewer burst pipes expose us to diseases,” said Phiri.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) Executive Director Cornilia Selipiwe said they will confront council in a manner that would make them solve the disaster with urgency and also urged council to change its sewer system as it has deteriorated.
“It is a serious problem that needs collective efforts but I think the way things are happening we would be left with no option but to engage them in a very confrontational way and we will very soon if nothing is done urgently. Very soon we will engage in a demonstration because we cannot let something like this continue happening to people’s lives, health is at risk.
“What we need to get straight here is that this is no longer a sewer blockage but it is the collapse of the sewer system in that particular area. There have been several efforts from the city councils side but their efforts have not yielded meaningful results or any change to the lives of those people that are living in and around that particular area. That place has been declared some kind of a disaster and it is a disaster indeed so what needs to be done is that they need to replace the sewer system, people are complaining, we are complaining,” said Selipiwe.
Contacted for comment Gweru City Council Public Relations Officer and Communications officer, Vimbai Chingwaramuse said they received the report and engineers were on the ground.
“We have received that report and as a local authority our engineers have been on the ground to assess the situation and currently we are still in the process of ensuring that we get an excavator which we can use to ensure that we fix the problem as a matter of urgency.
“We are aware of the problem and we encourage our valued residents to ensure that children do not play along that area to avoid any diseases, however we are going to work on it as a matter of urgency,” she said.
It is alleged that the sewer has been a problem for years in the village as city council is failing to repair the old sewer system.
