Some residents in Bulawayo’s New Lobengula suburb are complaining that the water coming out of their taps occasionally smells of sewage, posing a serious health threat to their families.
The residents said the problem started in February, and they reported it to their councillor, Muziwakibo Masuku, who raised the issue with the city council.
Despite samples being collected on two separate occasions, they are yet to receive feedback from the local authority.
Clara Mbambo said they have had a perennial problem of overflowing sewage in their area, and the council’s efforts to address it have been insufficient.
“We have had this sewage problem for the past ten years. The council comes to fix it sometimes, but it keeps recurring. Now it is more worrying because the water from our taps sometimes smells like sewage. People living in the affected houses have had incidents of diarrhoea. We fear mostly for our children,” Mbambo said.
“This started in February, and we reported it to our councillor. The city council people came and took samples. The same happened again about two weeks ago. They came back for more samples, but we haven’t received any feedback. Sometimes, when we fill up containers, there are residues at the bottom. How can the water be clean when we have these constantly overflowing sewers?”
Mbambo added that the situation is so dire that the sewage has started blocking paths, forcing people to walk through her yard to avoid stepping into the dirty water.
Another resident, Lucia Galetha, urged the city council to treat the matter with urgency, fearing for their health.
“We are still awaiting the results of the tests on our water samples. You cannot attend to a matter twice and not give feedback. Right now, we are afraid of drinking our tap water and rely on our unaffected neighbours for water,” she said.
“Our children play outside every day where the sewage runs. The air is full of foul smells. We need urgent help on this matter.”
Councillor Masuku told CITE that he has raised the matter several times with the council, but no action has been taken yet.
“What is happening in Ward 12 is very worrying. That area is full of filth, and the people’s health is in grave danger. The city council needs to attend to this issue urgently. I have raised it with them several times, and they said they are facing resource challenges. But that should not stop them from taking action to help the residents,” Cllr Masuku said.
“There are children who play there. Their health is at risk. Of course, parents try to keep an eye on them, but they cannot guard them all the time. This challenge needs to be addressed very urgently. It is a serious health threat.”
The city council had not responded to questions emailed to them regarding the issue.
