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Chombo's World Habitat Day pretence
Trudy Stevenson
October 07, 2008

Former Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo (who among others presided over Operation Murambatsvina to destroy over 700,000 people-s homes) led celebrations of World Habitat Day at Town House on Monday - as hundreds of thousands of residents of Harare and Chitungwiza scurried around looking for water! Water to flush our toilets, water to wash ourselves as well as our babies, sick and elderly and water to drink, here in this capital city in the year 2008.

At the UZ campus in Mt Pleasant, where some 5000 people were supposed to congregate, there has been no water for over a month, despite lies put out by ZBC that ZINWA had sunk boreholes and everything was sorted out.

Students, lecturers and workers travel here from as far as Chitungwiza, hoping they will be able to relieve themselves in the northern suburbs and even get a drink of clean water. Alas, they find themselves reduced to squatting behind whatever shelter they can find - and then going thirsty.

People-s stay on campus is determined by their bodily functions. They have to rush in and do whatever they can before nature calls - or before they are driven away by the stench.

On Saturday, Pomona dumpsite started burning again, and the pall of noxious smoke was so heavy over Emerald Hill the sky turned dark and we could hardly breathe.

Last year, the Environmental Management Agency fined Harare Municipality for polluting the atmosphere from Pomona and other sites, and ordered the city to close the dumpsites down - but they are still in operation, poisoning the atmosphere and residents.

In my area, no-one has been to collect our refuse for a month now, and I know it is the same elsewhere. Our bins are overflowing, garbage is piling up behind the shopping centre and in the drainage ditches, and rats, flies and fleas are having a field day.

Again, the city was ordered by the EMA last year to put in place sustainable waste management practices to guarantee a clean, safe and healthy environment for residents - but the situation has deteriorated, not improved.

This is our habitat in the northern suburbs, and it is very much worse in the high-density areas, where people have still not been able to replace their homes and are squashed together in all manner of makeshift arrangements.

How dare Chombo even show his face on such a day? And how dare the Municipality of Harare go along with this pretence? They should all hang their heads in shame, for they have failed and continue to fail, however much they may try to pass the buck.

*Trudy Stevenson is the former MP for Harare North and member of the MDC

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