Residents in Ward 15, Cowdray Park, complain about the poor road network in their area, citing that it is a deterrent to accessing other services dependent on roads.
In an interview with CITE, the residents said they do not have access to refuse collection services, and ambulances struggle to reach their homes in cases of emergencies due to the lack of proper roads.
Andrew Moyo-Mpanduki, a resident from Segment 3, said their area is now filthy due to the improper disposal of waste.
He mentioned that they last had refuse collected sometime before COVID-19, and the collectors left because they were complaining about the poor road network.
“It is a sorry sight,” said Moyo-Mpanduki. “You find that people now just dispose of their litter anyhow. We have stands that are still being developed here. People go and dump their waste there.”
He added, “We have a river that flows through our community as well. People go and throw some of the garbage in there. This affects the flow of water in the river, a development that may cause serious health hazards.”
Another resident who is a community leader, Douglas Ndlovu, said the poor roads are a hindrance to health services, as ambulances struggle to reach their houses in cases of emergencies.
“We have serious challenges because of these roads. Think of situations when we call ambulances. They struggle to reach our houses. It’s worse during the rainy season. The roads would be inaccessible,” Ndlovu said.
“Even with public transport, some residents walk long distances because the kombi drivers avoid the bad roads.”
Ward 15 Councilor, Ashton Mhlanga, confirmed that the area is immensely affected by poor services, mostly because some of the residents were settled before the area was fully serviced.
“Most parts of our area are 95 percent developed. Parts of the area are well developed and they have access to some of the services, but the other part needs serious attention. The city council needs to channel the required resources to ensure that these challenges are addressed,” Cllr Mhlanga said.
