By Freeman Makopa
Harare – Uncollected garbage woes have continued ravaging residents of Harare`s Kuwadzana suburb as the city council is failing to fulfill its mandate.
This situation has left many Zimbabweans resorting to the dumping of garbage on undesignated areas.
There seems to be strong prima facie evidence that the reported deaths of people from cholera during the past few years in High density suburbs like Budiriro, Kuwadzana and Glen View were related to the dumping of waste.
Many people blame it on the non – collection of bins by the responsible authorities,garbage disposal is fast becoming a serious menace to the environment.
Residents are now dumping used diapers, foodstuffs at various open sites that continue to crop up in Harare.
This not only makes it an environmental problem but a health threat as well , many cases of typhoid were also reported in this area a disease believed to have been caused by eating fish and eating fruits being sold from a nearby market.
The dumped garbage which includes sanitary waste is believed to be a contributing factor to typhoid cases and many people in Kuwadzana are fearing for their lives as poorly managed waste has left many vulnerable to ailments such as cholera,typhoid and Cancer. Research conducted by New Ziana shows that the dangers of garbage in all forms are far more devastating than originally anticipated as they go beyond medical complications.
Due to the recent pounding of heavy rains this culminated to the breeding of bacteria’s such as those that are harmful to the human body, the city council for many years has failed to heed calls to redress the issue of refuse collection.
Dennis Muzota a resident of Kuwadzana commented on the situation saying urgent steps should be taken to alleviate the problem before it is too late.
“I think relevant authorities should come up with a plan to curb the problem before it goes out of hand because we fear the return of those deadly diseases cholera and typhoid as they have claimed the lives of many in recent years”.
“It’s clear that the city council has failed us and we would like to appeal for government intervention as this has now brought uncertainty between us and our families”
Kuwadzana residents can also be seen establishing illegal dump sites in their neighborhood which remain un collected for several weeks.
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