City council discharges raw sewage into Gweru River

THE Gweru City Council is discharging raw sewage into Gweru River posing a health hazard to residents in the city's Mutapa and Ascot high density suburbs who are fetching water from the river in the emerging water woes that have seen the entire city going for close to three days without water.

Responding to a question by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Cde Savior Kasukuwere during his recent visit to Gweru, chairperson of the Gweru City Council Commission Mr Tsunga Mhangami said the local authority was discharging raw sewage into open stream as it was failing to raise money for water and sewer reticulation.

"It is unfortunate that we are still discharging untreated sewage into an open stream because we haven't raised enough money to rehabilitate our sewer treatment plant," responded Mr Mhangami.

Gweru City Council was recently fined $25 000 by the Environmental Management Agency for allegedly discharging raw sewage into an open stream a situation which was posing a health hazard to residents in Mtapa and Ascot.

Minister Kasukuwere also expressed concern over poor service delivery after it emerged that Woodlands Park had gone for over three years without refuse collection.