Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South) – The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has accused the Harare City Council of culpability in the recent deaths of four family members who died whilst trying to drain a well.
The four brothers Macliff, Tom, Cleopas Jnr, and their father Cleopas Jokomera died of suspected carbon monoxide inhalation in succession of one another in the town of Budiriro on Monday.
In a statement the pressure group said the council’s failure to provide effective service delivery had led to the tragic situation thus the blame should be laid upon them.
“As CHRA, we however would like to highlight that the Budiriro incident is one of the many cases of needless loss of life arising out of the failure by the Harare City Council to offer effective service delivery such as clean, safe and portable water”.
“As a result of the failure by the council to provide safe water in residential areas, residents have resorted to digging wells and many cases of residents, especially children, dying in these wells have been recorded”, it said.
The organisation further cited other issues in which the council has failed to fulfil its mandate.
“On top of this, some of these wells are unprotected or are dug near toilets and this has exposed residents to diseases such as cholera and typhoid”.
“It is a public secret that the Harare City Council’s failure to provide safe drinking water, coupled with non-collection of refuse in residential areas has resulted in needless loss of life and the local authority must be held accountable”
With Harare currently grappling with a typhoid crisis CHRA says it’s skeptical of the council’s ability to avert another tragic outbreak saying ‘it has every reason to fear that if corrective measures are not taken, we will continue to witness needless loss of life in the capital”.
“What is more disturbing is the fact that the Harare City Council’s priorities are highly misplaced with $9 million out of the $13 million being collected monthly going towards salaries while only $1 million is reserved for service delivery”, it said.
CHRA has since engaged the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) to investigate the supposed flagrant violation of residents’ fundamental rights such as the right to clean, safe and portable water as well as the right to a clean environment among other rights guaranteed in the country’s constitution.
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