Coltart: โCulture change neededโ to fix Bulawayoโs sewerage crisis
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The Mayor of Bulawayo, David Coltart, says the city is committed to addressing ongoing sewerage blockages, revealing plans to engage private companies to rehabilitate the cityโs deteriorating sewerage plants.
Residents in Bulawayo continue to grapple with severe sewerage blockages, with Municipal employees taking considerable time to attend to reported issues.
During a meeting held in Ward 22 addressing the state of the ward, residents shared their grievances, citing the discomfort of living with untreated sewage.
โHuman waste is unbearable, making it difficult to stay at home. When we report issues, they donโt respond, but surprisingly, when we tell the councilor, they attend within five minutes,โ said one resident.
The resident suggested that the council should subsidise private companies.
โThere are plumbers who need jobs, unlike these workers who donโt take us seriously. After all, we pay for the service and receive high bills at month-end. The situation is better for water because you can fetch from boreholes or harvest rainwater, but not for human waste. Please fix this issue,โ the resident added.
In response, the Mayor acknowledged the cityโs challenges, revealing that the sewerage department was operating at less than 20 percent capacity when the current council took office.
โI received a report from Nketa 8 about a house with sewage everywhereโterrible for a family and dangerous exposure to cholera. We have eight sewerage plants, none of which are working properly in the city. Our focus is to get these plants working properly. Itโs a huge problem, but we are working with private companies and others to resolve it,โ he said.
Coltart explained that water shedding has worsened the situation.
โWhen we took over, I was told, and itโs still the case, that they are operating at less than 20 percent capacity. In some parts of the city, we are pumping raw sewage into the Umguza Riverโa completely unacceptable situation. Itโs made worse by the amount of rubbish in the system and further complicated by water shedding. When you donโt get water in your system, nothing flushes properly. When water finally returns, everything has hardened, causing blockages,โ he explained.
He continued, โWe are addressing these problems by working with companies to bring in private contractors for rehabilitation. We have contracted five private plumbers who have been working throughout the city to clear blockages, though Iโm not sure if any have worked in this area.โ
Coltart appealed to residents to assist the council with sewerage blockages, noting that some are due to negligence.
โWhen we throw litter and plastic bottles into the system, they block the pipes and affect the entire system.โ
โParticularly to young people, we must change our culture. Your homes arenโt littered, so why should our streets be? We need everyone to work with us to clean up the city,โ he emphasised.
He urged residents to take proactive steps in maintaining their properties, including clearing drains and ditches to ensure proper water flow.
โI received a report from Nketa 8 about terrible sewerage issues, but part of the problem was that the drains by the house hadnโt been cleared, leaving nowhere for water to go. You canโt look to the council for everything. We need a spirit of self-reliance and self-help. If we keep our neighbourhoods clean and dig the ditches, it will be easier to deal with these issues,โ Coltart concluded.