Back to Index

Residents' Voices - Issue 41
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)
January 21, 2011

Uncouth behaviour at health facilities

Residents of Bulawayo are being given short shrift by the health sector. Health services have become dreadful in both government hospitals and city council hospitals while costs at private surgeries remain prohibitive. The biggest problem at referral hospitals remains shortage of doctors and drugs while nurses at the institutions have proved lazy and incompetent. Residents with relatives or friends at the hospitals, especially Mpilo Hospital, have to visit the hospitals everyday to make sure that their loved ones are being adequately cared for as the nurses are not doing enough. Nurses at city council clinics have also shown inaptitude and lack of motivation in their work. In most cases, their service is very slow and patients have to wait long hours in the queues.

Bulawayo residents are dismayed by such uncouth behaviour and have called on the relevant authorities to address the issue with urgency.

Drainage systems a major concern as rains persist

Bulawayo residents are calling on the city council to improve drainage systems in the city. This comes on the backdrop of increased levels of rainfall in the past month. Most of the trenches in residential areas are not efficient as they are blocked by sand, rubbish and other debris. Most residents have raised concerns that the local authority is not adequately maintaining trenches as they are filled with sand. The city council has been urged to construct proper concrete trenches and regularly remove sand from trenches.

Residents appalled by state of roads

Residents of Bulawayo are once again contending with the poor state of roads in the city, something that has become very common during rainy seasons. However the relatively higher levels of rainfall this year have worsened the situation. Roads are in an appalling state not only in the townships where roads are not very busy, but even along major busy roads such as Luveve Road, Khami Road and Masiyephambili Drive. This is posing serious hazards for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. Only recently, a cyclist was knocked down by a car while trying to avoid a pothole in Luveve suburb.

Residents bemoan water cuts

Pumula South residents were shocked when council employees descended on the high density suburb to disconnect water supplies recently. Most of the disconnected residents revealed that they owe the service provider more than $200 and have been charged an extra $20 for security deposit and $10 as a reconnection fee. What irked the residents most is that the local authority did not give them prior notice before disconnecting their water supplies. The notification letters were delivered by the disconnecting teams, denying residents a chance to raise the fees.

The water disconnections continue despite that the city council informed residents that it will not disconnect water supplies as long as each household pays its bill as well as 10% of their debt to BCC.

Visit the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP