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Deteriorating state of Mbare residential area
Mbare Residents Trust
June 02 , 2008

The trust is one of eight residents' trusts that have been established under the auspices of the Harare Citizens' Trust, an independent residents' body that spearheads citizenship participation in lobbying and advocacy around good local governance in Harare.

The situation in flats: Executive members of the Mbare Residents' Trust toured all the flats in Mbare during the past week and were confronted with blocked toilets, flowing raw sewerage, dark alleys called passages, and interacted with demoralized tenants who felt let down by the City of Harare. Their first point of visit was Jo'burg lines and subsequently went to Matapi 3, 4 and 6 Flats. In these flats, raw sewerage flows almost everywhere, in toilets, their bathrooms and corridors and the occupants now hopeless. The tenants at Mbare Flats told the Trust that the City employees responsible for cleaning have not done so in three weeks, making their lives horrible and risky. The tenants said they were prepared to clean their place alone if the Municipality provides them with disinfectants.

Raw sewerage: is flowing between 24th and Jack Bakasa streets in the Jo'burg Lines. Out of desperation, residents are digging trenches for the sewerage to flow. However, a new conflict situation has been created as each resident is digging furrows to guide the sewerage to the next house, creating tensions among the residents. More sewerage has affected the households around Mbirimi Road and Barbara Circle.

Community infrastructure: ZANU PF militants under the Chipangano Group have taken charge of community halls and offices. The vigilante group recently forcibly opened an office, previously used by a medical doctor to act as a processing and vetting centre for prospective vendors at all the market places in Mbare including at the Stodart Complex, Mupedzanhamo, and retail market. Most of the business premises are occupied by people who have allegedly passed through the ZANU PF offices instead of the Municipal offices, prejudicing the City of Harare billions in monthly revenue. The Trust is set to engage the Zanu PF leadership and the City of Harare to establish the truth.

Dumpsites: continue to increase in Mbare with refuse piling at almost all the roads'/streets' intersections, blocking main roads like Mbirimi and Mushongandebvu. Most open spaces behind the flats have been turned into dumpsites, contaminating the environment and creating more health worries for citizens, especially children. Despite water being a human right, a burst water pipe along Mhlanga Avenue has remained unrepaired since September 2007. The burst pipe has gushed clean water since then and 15 households have remained without water.

Power cuts: in Mbare have left the citizenry poorer with firewood vendors exploiting the situation to their advantage. Three pieces of firewood are being sold at an average of $1 billion dollars. The trust has now set an appointment with ZESA officials to discuss the issue of the load-shedding schedules and the continued vandalism and theft of electricity cables.

Recommendations and way forward: The Trust has established three committees to look into Rates and Services, Crime and Security, and Health and Environment. These committees have started targeted documentation of key service areas and will produce reports that highlight the state of service provision in Mbare along specific areas. The trust has a policy of engagement with all key service providers to ensure quality service provision to residents. In fact there are plans to convene an all-stakeholders meeting in Mbare between duty bearers and rights holders to find best ways to address concerns of citizens.

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