SUKOLUHLE NDLOVU IN GWERU
Severe water shortages have hit the city of Gweru with some suburbs having gone for more than three weeks without running water.
This has left residents with no choice but to rely on few boreholes available in the city or unprotected wells, sparking fears of outbreak of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
Some residents are seen as late as 12 midnight fetching water while others wake up as early as 2am to queue at boreholes, risking being attacked by thieves.
The residents have described the situation as dire.
They said it was a ticking health time bomb.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association Ward 6 chairperson Siphiwe Nzira said there could be an outbreak of diarrheal diseases if the situation was not addressed.
“The water issue is now posing a danger to us. If it is not quickly attended to, there could be an outbreak of typhoid or cholera,” she said.
Nzira said there was need for the council to quickly attend to the situation so that sanity is restored.
“We are appealing to the local authority to resolve this matter with the urgency it deserves before lives are lost. This is especially affecting those in high density areas”, she said.
Nzira said the water situation has resulted in them spending most of their time queuing for water during cold nights and as a result of standing in the cold for a long time, some women have developed health complications.
“Sometimes people will be fetching water from the borehole as late as 12 midnight to 2am. Due to spending too much time in the cold some end up having health problems like catching flu while others catch pneumonia. It is therefore a serious situation that needs to be attended to very quickly.
She also said people are also at risk of being attacked by thieves at night while queuing for water.
“If this crisis is not resolved, people could be seriously harmed or even killed by robbers,” Nzira said.
The city council has attributed the water shortages to electricity faults at its Gwenoro water treatment plant.
