Collapsed drainage system worries Bulawayo residents

BULAWAYO ward one residents have expressed concerns over the collapse of the drainage system during this rain season and national outbreak of the Cholera disease.

Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson Winos Dube said they have spoken about the collapse of the drainage system around Bulawayo Central Business District (CBD).

"These are the kind of situations which we only talk about during the rainy season, once the rainy season passes on people tend to forget about this issue but these are challenges that we feel like our councillor has to do something," Dube said.

Ward one councillor Josiah Mutangi said the council has set measures to address the drainage system failure across the ward or city so that they can all work properly.

"As council we have started to address this issue and you can see in some of the areas, the drainage systems are working properly which shows that the council is on top of it," Mutangi said.

"We have taken strong measures to address this issue and our engineers are on a lead so that in the coming few weeks we will see the smooth running of the drainage system."

Mutangi said they have made adequate measures at the market by engaging with each and every vendor to make sure that they prevent the spread of Cholera.

"We are working hand in hand with the Bulawayo City Council and they are aware of the drainage system situation," he said.

He said places like the market have really improved in its cleanliness.

"If you visit some of the places like the market, you are really going to be impressed because with the market so far it's one of the places that's very clean like never before," he said.

Dube said this is a serious crisis which calls for serious attention on the engineering department of the city and something needs to be done to resolve this.

"This is something which calls for serious attention on the engineering department of our city and we call upon them to do something about these collapsed drainage system in ward one,"

He said it's hard to move or cross the road in the city when there is heavy rain.

"Especially when we make reference to the CBD which is really a serious crisis because every time there is a heavy downfall all roads become hard to just move or pass them," Dube said.

Dube said ward one residents fear for their life's about this collapse of the drainage system during this outbreak of Cholera.

"One thing that worries us the most is especially at a time like this where there's a national disaster which is the outbreak of Cholera, residents fear that as we are facing this situation of collapsed drainage system, there's serious danger that this Cholera outbreak can spread throughout the ward," he said.

Due to the clogged drainage system, the city centre is prone to flash flooding, which exposes motorists and pedestrians to hazards.

"There are areas around the city where you find there is dirty water, this is a situation that needs to be addressed especially areas like at the market and at Egodini."

Dube urged the city council to move with pace to improve the drainage system as it's a situation which has been affecting them for a long period of time.

"we call upon our councillors, one big question we ask ourselves is  honestly the city fathers that we have here, are they not aware of this issue and if they are aware what course of action have they taken to address this issue," he said.

"I think we need people that are really pro-active, people who would move around the city and make sure what needs to be done at the correct time so that we can avoid such calamities as the spread of Cholera."

As residents representatives we are call upon a pro action to rectify the drainage system to make sure we avoid the spread of Cholera in the city and the proper working of the drainage systems

The city centre has suffered from this situation for over a period of 4 years.