Bulawayo school hit by water crisis

Ngwalongwalo Primary School in Pumula South, Bulawayo, is facing a water crisis due to pump failure, resulting in the school being without water for three days. This situation has compelled the students to resort to open defecation in nearby bushes, which poses health and environmental risks.

In response to the water problem, a meeting was convened on Wednesday to seek a solution. A concerned parent stated, "The children are in danger, and the young ones are soiling themselves and being asked to leave the classrooms as they will be unclean. The school head suggested that, as parents, we should collectively find solutions to this crisis, as we are all in it together for the next few days."

When contacted for comment, the school head, Keyi Moyo, explained that the school's pump had malfunctioned on Monday. Although the two 1,000-liter tanks were initially full, they began encountering challenges on Tuesday when the water flow started diminishing. However, Moyo assured that the issues have been resolved, and the tanks are in the process of refilling, with everything expected to return to normal by the end of the day.

Efforts to reach Taungana Ndoro, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, for comment were unsuccessful.

On a related note, a few months earlier this year, Pumula North suburb had to grapple with a scare of a diarrhoea outbreak as residents reported stomach pains and other symptoms associated with water-borne diseases.