By Brighton Chiseva
Travelers, vendors, and flea market traders in Jerera Growth Point are facing a dire sanitation crisis, with over a thousand people forced to share a single, overwhelmed toilet.
The situation has become so desperate that people are now resorting to using the toilet’s back area, raising serious health concerns and fears of a potential disease outbreak in Ward 19.
Councilor Albert Mazvanya confirmed the crisis to TellZim News and promised to follow up with council management to at least put efforts to reopen a currently closed toilet and alleviate the pressure and bring some relief to the affected community.
“The issue of toilets is a matter of concern and urgent attention is needed to avert the pending problem. We have a new toilet in Tagona Market which has already blocked because there is no running water and the influx of people.
“The other one near flee market is very filthy and record blockages regularly. The only better toilet is the one near the council Beerhall, that one is better because it is being used by few people who have keys since it is managed directly by vendors from the flea market. The one that used to be a pay toilet is a bit far from the people so they don’t normally use it. So I will engage the management to see how best we can help the situation,” said Mazvanya.
One resident who spoke to TellZim News said the toilet in the rank was overwhelmed by locals and travelers saying people shun getting inside and usually relieve themselves behind it.
“The only toilet working in the rank is overwhelmed, it’s dirty that no one can set foot inside. It’s used by travelers and since there is no light inside, they go behind market stalls and behind the toilet. The vendors and those who operate food outlets will have to clean every day before operating and at times they leave it. Imagine serving food in such an area.
“We wonder why council and other relevant authorities are playing with people’s lives, allowing such to happen. The toilet is very old and need renovations to put in a new system,” said the source.
Contacted for comment by TellZim News, Zaka RDC Chief Executive Officer David Majaura said he was not in office and would respond when he comes back after a few days.
However, other sources within council said the vendors were to blame, the toilet was handed over on May 2 and they manage it on their own so they were failing to do so.
The source further said another challenge was that of mix up in the market, the vendors were mixed despite what they sell creating confusion amongst the vendors who cannot coordinate themselves.
“We handed the new toilet to Tagona Market executive on May 02 for use by traders. They manage it on their own. The pay toilet is used by traders free of charge.
“However, another challenge is the mix up of vendors in the market, those who sell vegetables are mixed with those who sell clothes and other. So it is difficult for them to coordinate. The side we allocated vendors as council is organized but the side where MPs and Councilors allocated is chaotic. They would simply give people numbers without considering what they sell,” said the source
One vendor who spoke to TellZim News on condition of anonymity said though they were given authority over the toilet, there was no water rendering the toilet unusable and said the pay toilet that they were allowed to use was a bit distant and often closed.
“We cannot use the toilet because there is no water, how can we manage the toilet without water. We pay rates to them so they should provide proper facilities so that we manage. The pay toilet they gave us is a distant and is often closed so people don’t use it, they simply go behind the toilets.
“At night they come in here and mess giving us a headache to clean every morning, it’s only a matter of time before we record a catastrophe,” said the vendor.
