By Lerato Ndlovu
Lack of refuse collection in Harare’s suburbs including the central business district (CBD) for the past weeks has caused health scare to residents as this has brought a ground breeding environment for water-borne diseases and malaria due to the outset of rains.
Close to three weeks has lapsed without waste collection in Harare CBD a situation which have seen the mushrooming. Skip bins have become eyesores putting forward the risk of diseases to the public.
Tinashe Machaka a business owner stated that it is worrisome that the city council is not collecting refuse at a time that cleanliness is needed.
“It is worrisome that they
(Council) are not collecting refuse at this time that water is a scarce
commodity to everyone. The possibility of having blocked drainage pipes is at a
peak in our communities, the next thing we might hear is that we do not have
adequate funds to allocate our trucks to move around the streets collecting garbage
which is maladministration by the Waste and amenities department and the whole
City Council,” he said.
A Glen View resident Mr Tendai Govera said the City council is not collecting
garbage now that it’s raining, He also raised fears over cholera and typhoid
that affected the country in the past years could resurface.
“The chances of cholera, typhoid and malaria outbreaks in Harare are high
and worsened by the fact that rubbish is always lying around, vendors are
selling mangoes and mazhanje next to the
fly infested garbage, the council should act in regards to this urgently, ”
he said.
A local retailer in the CBD said the city council should do something about
this for it is an imminent health hazard and we don’t know what will happen to
the people with the cholera scourge that has previously hit the country as it can
strike again because the city fathers are giving ground to the health time
bomb.
“We are appealing to the City Council to improve its services because if
people get any form of infection as a result of its failure to deliver, clinics
will fail to cater for them as they are short of resources “she said.
Council has been urged to revise its priorities and focus on what matters most
to the people while being aware of the challenges that the health fraternity is
facing which might see it failing to contain any disease outbreak.
This comes at a time when Harare City Council increased water charges and continuously complains that poor cash flow prevents it from providing adequate water and services like refuse collection, yet it has just spent at least $375 000 on iPads for councillors and selected managers.
