Gwanda suburb residents build Blair toilets

RESIDENTS of Spitzkop North Extension suburb in Gwanda have resorted to constructing Blair toilets at their homes as they have gone for several years without proper ablution facilities.

Some residents of the suburb located in Ward Five who spoke to reporters said their area had gone for about 20 years without being serviced and all along they were going into the bush to relieve themselves.

They said they were also facing water challenges. A resident of the suburb, Mrs Olitha Moyo, said they had resorted to digging Blair toilets as going to the bushes was a hassle especially in the middle of the night.

''We have had a problem of water and toilets ever since we stayed here. The council allocated us stands in an unserviced area and the place has remained like this for the past 20 years. We have been using the bush all along or nearby stands which are under construction. However, we have realised that we can't continue messing people's stands and hence we decided to construct Blair toilets. They are not standard they are just holes that we dug and then mounted some asbestos around so that we can just relieve ourselves," she said.

''It's still a challenge for our children as they can't use these make shift toilets as they are not safe so they still have to use the bush or people's stands. This is a difficult condition to live under for all these years. It's not safe to leave the house in the middle of the night and head for the bushes in order to use the toilet.''  

Mrs Moyo said they had to look for water and at times they could not access it. Mr Lovemore Tembo, who is also from the same suburb, said some people were using shops in the area that were under construction as toilets. He said there was a need for the municipality to address this challenge as it had dragged on for too long. He said the conditions that people were exposed to were a health hazard. Residents of Jahunda suburb who are also facing a sanitation problem rely on public toilets which are now in a poor state.

Mrs Nokuthula Sibanda said the toilets which were always filthy were not being maintained. She said this was a health threat as they were located close to houses and the toilets were not safe for children.

In an interview, Gwanda Mayor, Clr Jastone Mazhale, said the municipality had put in place measures to address water and sanitation challenges faced by the two areas. He said about 200 households were affected in Spitzop North Extension while about 61 were affected in Jahunda.

''We recently flighted a tender looking for a contractor to service Spitzkop North Extension where about 200 households are affected as they were allocated stands on unserviced land. In a bid to address water challenges we have put up community stand pipes where people are getting their water. In Jahunda we are working on refurbishing the public toilets which are being used by 61 households,'' he said.