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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Health Crisis - Focus on Cholera and Anthrax - Index of articles
Cholera
disaster engulfs city as government dithers
Combined Harare
Residents Association (CHRA)
November 20, 2008
The Harare residents
remain in an outright disaster of the cholera scourge which threaten
to engulf the whole city and beyond. The CHRA members who thronged
the streets of Budiriro on the 16th of November 2008 in protest
of the epidemic maintain that the defacto government is responsible
for the current cholera outbreaks, deaths and general suffering
of the residents. The Residents maintain their demand that the management
of the Harare city water supply be returned to the city council
while ZINWA concentrate on bulk water production. The residents
of Harare have vowed to continue with their protests in their various
wards. Residents have vowed that; as long as there is still raw
sewage flowing in the streets of Budiriro, Glenview, Highfields,
Dzivarasekwa and other Harare suburbs, as long as there are no adequate
supplies of clean water; residents will continue to conduct mass
protests in every affected suburb of Harare.
The root cause of the
cholera scourge is the failure of ZINWA to effectively manage the
sewerage systems in the City of Harare as well as its failure to
provide adequate and clean water to residents. The acute water shortages
that have rocked Harare's suburbs have made it almost impossible
for residents to maintain hygienic living environs; a situation
that has left residents exposed to cholera infections. ZINWA was
already struggling with a tight budget and with a history of periodic
failures to remunerate its own staff when it took over the administration
of water and sewer services from the City of Harare. The Combined
Harare Residents Association (CHRA) and residents in general warned
of an impending disaster with water and sewer management under the
beleaguered water utility. Other institutions and people who advised
the Governement to reverse the ZINWA takeover decision include the
7th Parliament of Zimbabwe and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
However the Cabinet remained arrogant and adamant that this decision
would not be reversed despite the clear indications that sooner
rather than later, the residents would be suffering from cholera.
CHRA made a
micro survey of the frequency of water supplies in the suburbs of
Harare. Below is a table (Figure 1) which shows some of Harare's
residential areas and their water supply patterns:
| Area |
Water
supply frequency |
| Mabvuku
Tafara |
Most parts
of the suburbs have had no tap water since 2006 |
| Ruwa |
Receives
water once (4 to 5 hours on a single day) per month. The water
is usually available during the late night hours. |
| Glen Lorne |
Most parts
have been without water for the past 8 months, others receive
it for less than a day in a month. |
| Masasa
Park |
Receives
water once (4 to 5 hours ) per month |
| Greendale |
Without
water for the past 4 months, some parts now receiving water
for less than 5 hours per week. |
| Budiriro |
Receiving
visibly unclean water for less than 10 hours per week. |
| Dzivarasekwa |
Usually
no supplies during weekends but the water is not clean and has
dirt particles that can be seen by the naked eye. |
| Hatfield |
Two to
three days in every week |
| Chisipite |
Jan-April
2008 (6 hrs a month), May- Sept 2008 (No supplies), Oct to date
(an average of 4 hrs a month). |
| Kuwadzana |
Supplies
are available for an average of three days per week |
| Glen View |
Visibly
unclean water for less than 10 hours per week. Glen view went
for more than three consecutive weeks without supplies in October. |
| Glen Norah |
Two times
a week (supplies are usually five hours long) |
| Warren
Park |
Receives
water for an average of 2 days per week; between 0100 and 0300hrs)
This has been going on for the past Two months. The little water
that is available is visibly unclean. |
| Avenues
and the city center |
|
ZINWA has continued
to glide in the highway of chronic failure despite the money, fuel
and vehicles channeled to the parastatal by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe and this has put out the light at the end of the tunnel
for residents. The affected areas remain without tap (clean) water
amid the cholera pandemic engulfing the whole city and country.
Meanwhile, cholera cases have also been reported in Gweru, Beitbridge
(where the affected Zimbabweans cross the boarder to seek medical
attention in Messina, South Africa) and other areas throughout the
country. The "government" has refused to declare the
cholera pandemic a national disaster when it is clear that the country
has very little or no capacity to deal with the pandemic. Instead,
the defacto government, through the state media, has been misleading
the nation and the world with censored statistics on cholera. CHRA
warns the "Government" that the cholera incidence is
not a matter for propaganda but an outright national disaster that
needs urgent and diligent attention!
CHRA stands by the cholera
victims and will unremittingly push for the return of water and
sewer management to the City of Harare. CHRA will continue to monitor
the cholera and water situation. The Association is currently mobilising
and distributing water treatment tablets, protective clothing and
other things that could be of assistance to the victims of this
crisis.
Visit the CHRA
fact
sheet
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