Byron Mutingwende
Harare City Council should direct energy on improving service delivery and address the major drivers of typhoid, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has said.
Despite the call to such action, CHRA has noted efforts by the Harare City Council to contain the typhoid outbreak, which has resulted in two deaths in Mbare with about 132 suspected cases being reported.
“CHRA implores the Harare City Council to direct more of its energy on improving service delivery. This includes ensuring that citizens have access to clean, safe and portable water; providing adequate ablution facilities for the general public; improving drainage systems in the CBD as well as residential areas; improving on refuse collection in the CBD and residential areas as well as provision of adequate bins in the CBD and implementing good waste management plans,” said Mfundo Mlilo, the Director of CHRA.
As part of their measures to contain the outbreak, the Harare City Council on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 issued a 48-hour ultimatum for vendors to vacate the Central Business District (CBD) on the justification that unregulated vending was among the drivers of the typhoid outbreak.
The residents association called upon the local authority to address the major drivers of typhoid rather than concentrating on window dressing measures such as the war on vendors.
“Unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and hygiene services are among the key drivers of typhoid and need urgent attention if the typhoid outbreak is to be contained.
“The situation in Harare is compounded by the fact that over the years, residents have endured erratic water supplies while refuse collection is generally poor.
As a result of the erratic water supplies in Harare, most residents have resorted to using water from unprotected sources and this exposes them to diseases such as cholera and typhoid.”
Service delivery remains poor in Harare and by declaring war on “unregulated vending” the Harare City Council is only scratching the surface of the problems leading to the typhoid outbreak in Harare.