By Wongai Zhangazha
DRIVING through one of Chitungwiza's suburbs, Zengeza 3 Extension, the smell of raw sewage is sharp and the rancid stench hits you in the face just as you enter the suburb.
Sewage flows from manholes onto the dusty streets creating streams, with swarms of flies hovering over the raw affluent which has become a common sight in many high-density suburbs.
To make the situation more tolerable, concerned residents pushing wheel barrows of sand could be seen trying to temporarily cover the flowing sewage, but it is a losing battle.
"This is the only way we can protect ourselves to a limited extent," said an angry resident who identified himself as Munamato. "Since we started reporting these sewage leaks to council in February, there has been no improvement. Today (Wednesday) we have gone to report again at council's works department and they said they will come to attend to the problem, but we know they will not."
Just close to the flowing raw sewage is a deserted borehole that used to service residents from as far as Zengeza 1 and 2.
"We are afraid to fetch water from there as we believe it's contaminated and not safe to drink. But who cares about how we live. We have been living like this for so many years and the strike by council workers has only worsened our woes," adds Munamato.
Chitungwiza, Harare's teeming dormitory town, is a veritable health time bomb.
Parts of Chitungwiza such as Unit K, P, G and Unit N have gone without running water for two weeks, while sections like Zengeza 1 and 2 have been receiving erratic supplies of water. Refuse has not been collected in some areas for more than a month, with huge garbage piles on street corners and choking potholed roads.
In some parts of Seke as well as St Mary's, raw sewage also flows on the streets as workers are not attending to burst pipes.
Over a million residents in the town have lived with flowing raw sewage and water problems over a decade. During the 2008-2009 cholera epidemic, which killed about 4 000 people, the town was one of the hardest hit.
Residents also have to contend with piles of uncollected garbage, dilapidated infrastructure and frequent power cuts.
What has compounded an already dire situation is the strike by council workers. The workers downed their tools a month ago demanding outstanding salaries and allowances amounting to US$11 million accrued over 13 months.
Although the workers have "resumed" work, they are on a go-slow. During the strike, the workers turned away ratepayers claiming that if they paid their bills the money would be squandered by management.
The Zimbabwe National Army had to be called in to help manage critical departments at Chitungwiza Town Council, particularly the health department whose clinics were unmanned after nursing staff downed tools leaving patients stranded.
Despite Chitungwiza producing many prominent Zimbabweans including the finest musicians, evangelists and soccer players, the town has little to show for it.
Legendary musicians like the late John Chibadura and James Chimombe, System Tazvida, the Mahendere Brothers, Mechanic Manyeruke, Charles Charamba and his wife Olivia have all sprung from the dormitory town, famously known as Chi-Town, 25 kilometres south of Harare.
DRIVING through one of Chitungwiza's suburbs, Zengeza 3 Extension, the smell of raw sewage is sharp and the rancid stench hits you in the face just as you enter the suburb.
Sewage flows from manholes onto the dusty streets creating streams, with swarms of flies hovering over the raw affluent which has become a common sight in many high-density suburbs.
To make the situation more tolerable, concerned residents pushing wheel barrows of sand could be seen trying to temporarily cover the flowing sewage, but it is a losing battle.
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| Things Fall Further Apart in Chitungwiza |
Just close to the flowing raw sewage is a deserted borehole that used to service residents from as far as Zengeza 1 and 2.
"We are afraid to fetch water from there as we believe it's contaminated and not safe to drink. But who cares about how we live. We have been living like this for so many years and the strike by council workers has only worsened our woes," adds Munamato.
Chitungwiza, Harare's teeming dormitory town, is a veritable health time bomb.
Parts of Chitungwiza such as Unit K, P, G and Unit N have gone without running water for two weeks, while sections like Zengeza 1 and 2 have been receiving erratic supplies of water. Refuse has not been collected in some areas for more than a month, with huge garbage piles on street corners and choking potholed roads.
In some parts of Seke as well as St Mary's, raw sewage also flows on the streets as workers are not attending to burst pipes.
Over a million residents in the town have lived with flowing raw sewage and water problems over a decade. During the 2008-2009 cholera epidemic, which killed about 4 000 people, the town was one of the hardest hit.
Residents also have to contend with piles of uncollected garbage, dilapidated infrastructure and frequent power cuts.
What has compounded an already dire situation is the strike by council workers. The workers downed their tools a month ago demanding outstanding salaries and allowances amounting to US$11 million accrued over 13 months.
Although the workers have "resumed" work, they are on a go-slow. During the strike, the workers turned away ratepayers claiming that if they paid their bills the money would be squandered by management.
The Zimbabwe National Army had to be called in to help manage critical departments at Chitungwiza Town Council, particularly the health department whose clinics were unmanned after nursing staff downed tools leaving patients stranded.
Despite Chitungwiza producing many prominent Zimbabweans including the finest musicians, evangelists and soccer players, the town has little to show for it.
Legendary musicians like the late John Chibadura and James Chimombe, System Tazvida, the Mahendere Brothers, Mechanic Manyeruke, Charles Charamba and his wife Olivia have all sprung from the dormitory town, famously known as Chi-Town, 25 kilometres south of Harare.
