Gwanda councillors have raised concerns over the lack of toilet facilities at Mbembesi Business Centre, saying traders and members of the public are forced to relieve themselves in nearby bushes, raising public health and sanitation concerns.
The issue was raised during Gwanda Town Council’s Third Quarter Full Council Meeting at the council chambers on Tuesday, with councillors calling on the Ministry of Health and Child Care plus the local authority to intervene.
Ward 23 councillor, Mthokozisi Tshuma, said some shops and surrounding properties at the centre were operating without toilets, forcing people to use a bush near the business premises and the main road.
“In Mbembesi, there has been a cause for concern. The Ministry of Health has a role it needs to play because there are shops and houses which have no toilets,” Tshuma said.
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“There is a bush close to those shops that people have been using as toilets and you cannot even enter the place or cross to the other side because of the situation there.”
He said the situation was unacceptable at a business centre serving surrounding communities, particularly given that many of the shops are located along the main road.
“How can it be a business centre which has no toilets? Most of these shops are on the main road, but the carelessness around sanitation needs to be addressed. Something needs to be done so that people can work and conduct their businesses in a proper environment,” Tshuma said.
The concerns extend beyond sanitation, with councillors also raising questions about planning and compliance at the business centre.
Council vice-chairperson, Mandlenkosi Moyo, said some structures were reportedly built too close to or on the road, while some businesses were operating without toilet facilities.
“That place is getting out of hand and it is on the road. Action has to be taken at Mbembesi because the situation needs to be addressed. I even heard there is a shop in Ward 4 which has been built on the road and also has no toilets,” Moyo said.
Moyo said the council should pursue the matter until the sanitation and construction concerns were resolved, warning that continued non-compliance could create problems for both businesses and surrounding communities.
“This issue needs to be sorted out. We need to see this matter addressed and we will push so that it can be resolved. There has to be proper planning and compliance with the requirements so that businesses and other structures do not create problems for the community,” he said.
The councillors’ concerns place the spotlight on the enforcement of public health and planning requirements at growing business centres, where inadequate sanitation can expose traders and members of the public to unhygienic conditions.
They called for the relevant authorities to intervene and make sure that businesses and other structures at Mbembesi comply with sanitation, health and planning requirements.
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