Raw sewage flows into Mabvuku, Tafara houses

A HEALTH hazard is looming in Harare's Tafara and Mabvuku high-density surburbs, where residents have had to contend with raw sewage flowing into their homesteads for almost a year as council fails to attend to burst sewer pipes.

Combined Harare Residents Association spokesperson Reuben Akili told NewsDay that they were considering taking legal action against the local authority after numerous calls to have the broken sewer pipes repaired fell on deaf ears .

He said over 43 000 households were affected, with some forced to clean up the mess using bare hands.

"We have been reporting the problem of the sewage pipe bursts several times to the local authorities but they have not been repaired," Akili said.

"The problem is not only peculiar to Mabvuku, but to several residential suburbs."

Residents have resorted to makeshift sewer ponds to divert the flowing sewer from their homes.

Residents who spoke to NewsDay said they were worried about their health as raw sewage was flowing directly into open water sources.

By the time of going to print last night, council spokesperson Michael Chideme had not responded to questions sent to him despite promising to do so by close of business.

In her latest report released last month, Auditor-General Midred Chiri said observations on six major cities in the country showed that sewage from unattended sewer blockages was contaminating drinking water sources.