With the rainy season underway, Bulawayo residents are calling on the local authority to prioritise mosquito control, as increased mosquito activity is affecting many neighbourhoods.
Residents have also raised concerns about the lack of sufficient pest control measures, despite higher service charges imposed by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC).
Residents in Northend Suburb are particularly affected, with many experiencing heightened mosquito activity worsened by a nearby foul-smelling river.
“Councillor, mosquitoes are giving us a problem here along Long Road and Yeatman in Northend. There is a foul smell coming from the river next to the bridge, maybe it’s Mazayi River. That smell is also attracting mosquitoes. It’s a double-edged sword. When will mosquito control start?” a Northend resident asked, hoping the city council will take decisive action to address the mosquito problem and provide effective pest control services.
In response, Ward 2 Councillor Rendani Moyo assured residents that the pest control team had been informed.
“The team from pest control has been notified,” Moyo replied.
The councillor further told CITE that on Tuesday, the councillors will have a meeting with the Health Housing and Education Committee.
“The Director of Health Services will give a report at that meeting,” Moyo said, adding the council was already involved in “larviciding.”
“I can tell you that there is a process of ‘larviciding,’ which is ongoing where breeding sites are being treated with fenitrothion.”
However, the need for pest control is not limited to Northend Suburb as other residents have voiced similar frustrations, calling for comprehensive city-wide action.
“Mosquitoes are everywhere in Bulawayo,” said Mr Dubley, a concerned local in Ward 2.
Another resident, urged the city council to consider more effective solutions, like aerial spraying, which she suggested would have a longer-lasting impact.
“Bulawayo needs aerial spraying. The teams should go to all the houses and spray the whole town. That’s how they can defeat the mosquitoes for a few years. I’m sure the answer would be money, yet they uphold the rights of those who don’t pay water and rates over those who do,” she claimed.
Dubley agreed, pointing to what he perceives as poor management practices by the city council. “The BCC management lacks emotional intelligence,” he commented.
Residents from other suburbs have also raised complaints, including those in Richmond, where locals say the mosquito situation is particularly severe.
“Richmond has been neglected for so many years, the size and number of mosquitoes is frightening. We are in desperate need of pest control,” one resident remarked.
The concern about rising service charges, paired with diminishing services, has added to the frustration of residents.
Helmand Shoko, another local resident, questioned the allocation of funds, criticising the council’s financial priorities.
“The service charges are being channelled to a wrong course. We used to pay affordable, reasonable, and realistic charges with excellent results. Conversely, there are now unrealistic service charges versus nonexistent or piecemeal services. Citizens have yet to realise what independence is and why the country is said to have been liberated,” Shoko stated.
