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Coltart: โ€˜Culture change neededโ€™ to fix Bulawayoโ€™s sewerage crisis

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 cityโ€™s 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.

โ€œHuman waste is unbearable, making it difficult to stay at home. When we report issues, they donโ€™t 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.

โ€œThere are plumbers who need jobs, unlike these workers who donโ€™t 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 cityโ€™s challenges, revealing that the sewerage department was operating at less than 20 percent capacity when the current council took office.

โ€œI received a report from Nketa 8 about a house with sewage everywhereโ€”terrible 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. Itโ€™s 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.

โ€œWhen we took over, I was told, and itโ€™s 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 Riverโ€”a completely unacceptable situation. Itโ€™s made worse by the amount of rubbish in the system and further complicated by water shedding. When you donโ€™t get water in your system, nothing flushes properly. When water finally returns, everything has hardened, causing blockages,โ€ he explained.

He continued, โ€œWe 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 Iโ€™m 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.

โ€œWhen we throw litter and plastic bottles into the system, they block the pipes and affect the entire system.โ€

โ€œParticularly to young people, we must change our culture. Your homes arenโ€™t 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.

โ€œI received a report from Nketa 8 about terrible sewerage issues, but part of the problem was that the drains by the house hadnโ€™t been cleared, leaving nowhere for water to go. You canโ€™t 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.

Senzeni Ncube

Senzeni Ncube is an accomplished journalist based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, with seven years of experience in hard news, investigative writing, fact-checking, and a keen focus on social development, mining, elections, and climate change. She has extensive expertise in reporting community service delivery issues, demonstrating a deep understanding of politics, human rights, gender equality, corruption, and healthcare. Additionally, she possesses proficiency in video production and editing and is dedicated to providing high-quality journalism that highlights crucial social matters and amplifies the voices of the community. Senzeni is known for her thought-provoking interviewing skills.

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