The Sunday News
Lynnia Ndlovu
RESIDENTS of Spitzkop North Extension in Gwanda are living in fear of an outbreak of diseases due to continued delays in connecting the suburb to the council’s water and sewer system.
Most of the residents built the houses in 2010, but the area had not yet been serviced and residents moved in without Certificates of Occupation. Over 100 houses are occupied and the residents get their water from boreholes and use the bush to relieve themselves.
Only recently, the town council working under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme constructed a public toilet at Red Cross shopping centre which is being used by the residents.
However, fears are that there could be an outbreak of diseases such as cholera which once hit the town and other related diseases if the situation is not rectified with urgency.
Gwanda Town Mayor Councillor Knowledge Ndlovu conceded that residents were living without water and sewer reticulation services and said the council was seized with the matter.
“We are aware of the situation and we are moving fast so that we regularise the houses. The Ministry (Local Government) has directed that as council we should not give people unserviced land to build.
“We are urging the residents to approach us, so that we regularise their occupation of the houses,” said Clr Ndlovu.
Town Clerk, Ms Priscilla Nkala said very soon the council will rectify the problem and she added that the issue was not about servicing but of the shortage of water as well.
“Through our partners we managed to construct a public toilet in Spitzkop which is being used by the residents.
“The long term solution is the completion of Spitzkop Mega 5 reservoir so that people will have enough water and use their toilets. As council we have to work more on discouraging open defecation,” she said.
Meanwhile, the council, EMA and World Vision have embarked on clean-up programmes of the town through activating local health clubs which oversee the cleaning of the suburbs as far as the prevention of diseases is concerned.
The programme has according to the council, left the town 80 percent clean from the 50 per cent it stood at three years ago.
