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Water shortages resurface in Harare - Weekly City Watch
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
June 08, 2010

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Harare

Water shortages resurface

The Harare residents have expressed fears of another prolonged dry spell as water shortages are beginning to re-surface in some suburbs. Msasa Park has gone for three weeks without any water supplies; a situation that has seen residents trickling to a leaking water valve at the outskirts of the suburb located near the Masasa Industrial area. However, residents have raised concern over the quality of the water from the water valve as the place is surrounded by refuse dumpsites and sometimes children use dirty containers to fetch water. Some children actually immerse themselves inside the water valve to get water, as they are not able to fetch the water from outside the valve.

Mabvuku has not been spared by this problem as residents spent the whole of the past week without water in their taps. Some parts of Old Mabvuku only get water between 4am and 5am. Residents are still relying on boreholes that were drilled by UNICEF. However, some residents are still relying on unprotected wells that they dug at their homesteads; a situation that potentially exposes them to water borne diseases. Residents have called on the City of Harare to come up with sustainable solutions to the water problems in the city. Some residents vowed that they will never pay water bills until the City of Harare addresses the water challenges in Mabvuku.

Epworth

A New Residents Association is born...as state of service delivery worsens

There may be hope for residents of Epworth after the formation of a Residents Association. The Epworth Residence Development Association was formed after residents saw the need for mobilising collective efforts to address the service delivery challenges that are being faced in the area. One of the Association's members who spoke to CHRA said that Epworth is one of the areas that have been adversely affected by acute water shortages and lack of other basic services like health. Suburbs like Overspill have gone for more than five years without any water supplies. Residents use Blair toilets while others use the surrounding bushy areas as toilets.

Shopping Centers like Munyuki, Stop Over and Over Spill do not have public toilets. Some residents use unprotected wells to get water. In spite of these problems, the Municipality is serving residents with water bills and demanding payment. Furthermore, electricity has not been connected to the area and residents use firewood while a few rely on electricity generators.

Residents have also raised an outcry over the abuse of Council resources. It has been reported that the Epworth Municipality only has one ambulance and, instead of ferrying the sick to hospital, the ambulance is being used by some senior officials to ferry firewood to their homes. There are cases of mothers who lost their premature babies while rushing to the nearby Chitungwiza hospital using public transport. This is because the ambulance is never available to service residents. The Epworth Poly clinic does not have a mortuary and residents have to transport their deceased to either Parirenyatwa or Chitungwiza hospitals. Residents have said that the clinic is as good as non existent as there are no medicinal drugs.

However, residents have expressed their appreciation for the work that is being done by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) which is running a clinic at Dombo. However, the clinic is far from most Epworth residents who have to walk for more than 10km to get to the clinic. Some residents have had to use push carts to ferry the sick to the clinic because they cannot afford to hire private transport. The clinic is being overwhelmed by the huge population in the area and residents have requested that mobile clinics be set up to reach to other areas of Epworth that are a long distance from Dombo.

Isolated cases of typhoid have been reported since last month and residents are calling for awareness campaigns on health and hygiene as they are not prepared to deal with the situation should there be an outbreak.

Kadoma

Residents go for six weeks without water

Residents of Kadoma went for six weeks without water after a company contracted by Econet Wireless to dig trenches for the expansion of the mobile company's network services damaged the main water pipes that feed Kadoma. The Chairperson of the Greater Kadoma Residents and Ratepayers Association, Mr. Tawengwa said that the Company that is only known as Rigger had said that they had been given the green light by the Kadoma Town Council to dig the trenches and they had not been aware of any water pipes being in existence. Residents kept putting pressure on the Company's General Manager, Peter Manyonda, who later facilitated the replacement of water pipes after residents had gone for six weeks without water.

Residents fume as Council officials empower themselves with housing stands

Residents of Kadoma have raised an outcry over the unprocedural acquisition of land by some Council officials as well as ZANU PF functionaries. Mandaly Farm was offered to the Kadoma Town Council by the Ministry of Lands. The purpose of the transaction was to facilitate the future expansion of Kadoma. The Council surrendered the administration of the Farm to Kadoma Marketing (KAMA). However, the Farm was invaded by a well-known ZANU-PF functionary by the name Jimayi Muduvuri. KAMA has since pulled out of the Farm citing failure by Council to avail documentation on the acquisition of the Farm from the Ministry of Lands so that Muduvuri could be evicted from the Farm.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the Mayor and some Kadoma Council officials allocated themselves plots from the Farm. The Mayor, after being quizzed by the GKRA leadership actually admitted that he owns a plot on part of the Mandaly Farm. The Mayor did this with the full knowledge that there are thousands of residents in Kadoma who still do not have decent housing.

GKRA has expressed disappointment at the behaviour of the Mayor and senior Council officials saying that their level of corruption is disgusting to say the least. The city fathers are there to serve and protect the interests of residents and not empower themselves while residents suffer.

Farm invasion continue...

A ZANU PF Member of Parliament representing the Chakari constituency in Kadoma has become a nightmare to residents and farm owners as he has gone on a farm invasion spree. The 'Honourable' MP, Vurayayi Ziyambi, recently took over Imperani Farm from a white dairy farmer only known as Botha. Ziyambi resettled his children at the farm who have been allocating 2 hectare plots to interested residents at a fee. It has been reported that some of the equipment that was being used by Botha at the farm was taken over by the new farm settlers.

Norton

Youths in Local Governance

CHRA conducted civic education workshops for the youths in Norton in December 2009 and the youths have established youth desks in all the wards of Norton, inclusive of Norton rural. The youth desks are platforms for youths to engage Councilors and service providers and discuss challenges that are being faced in the local governance system as well as map the way forward.

The Norton Youths Coordinating Committee, that has been at the forefront in the establishment of the youth desks, is also facilitating clean-up campaigns in the wards of Norton to clear the informal dumping sites that had sprouted in the small town. Councilors have expressed enthusiasm at the youth initiatives and they are supporting the youths in the clean-up campaigns.

The youths have requested CHRA to source resources for the publication of a weekly newsletter covering local governance issues and the constitution making process so as to make sure that residents have access to reliable information

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