Bulawayo Mayor Cllr David Coltart has called for the speedy rehabilitation of burst sewer pipes to curb the potential spread of cholera around the city.
Cllr Coltart, addressing the city fathers at the recently held Full Council Meeting, spoke on how the city could fight the spread of the pandemic.
As of today, the country has recorded 23,905 suspected cholera cases, 2,511 confirmed cases, 23,147 recoveries, 71 confirmed deaths, and 454 suspected deaths.
Of the total statistics, Bulawayo has 29 cases and a single death.
Cllr Coltart urged the private parties involved in rehabilitating sewerage systems to work with speed to prevent a possible increase in cholera cases.
“We all know about the cholera reports in the region, and we face terrifying prospects of an outbreak here,” he said. “It is unacceptable that our sewer works are running at such low capacity. It is critically important to ensure that some of the stalled sewer rehabilitation works are addressed, even if it means resolving litigation processes.”
“Those private parties involved in those contracts need to take a national and humane public view of this,” Cllr Coltart continued. “That work must begin so we get those sewerage works functioning quickly.”
Cllr Coltart further highlighted uncontrolled vending activities as another factor contributing to litter in the city, potentially exacerbating the spread of cholera.
“The chaos brought by activities at 5th Avenue adds to the potential problems facing this city,” he said. “With the spectre of cholera looming and the mayhem at 5th Avenue, we have a time bomb waiting to explode if we don’t address this.”
“Egodini Phase One is now operational, offering at least 400 legitimate vending bays,” Cllr Coltart added. “There are also 10,000 other bays around the city. We call on all vendors and transport operators with leases to operate from designated areas to swiftly move there so we can decongest and clean this city. This move to relocate vendors is primarily to fight the threat of cholera.”
