Health time bomb ticks in Mthuli Ncube's Cowdray Park

RESIDENTS of Cowdray Park in Bulawayo are living in fear of a possible outbreak of waterborne diseases following the drilling of boreholes in wards 6 and 15 that predominantly use Blair toilets.

They told Southern Eye that the water from the boreholes may not be suitable for consumption.

The ruling Zanu-PF party is allegedly involved in the drilling of the boreholes as it campaigns for its parliamentary candidate, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube ahead of the August polls.

Albert Ndlovu, a resident, described the drilling of boreholes in an area which relies on Blair toilets an inconsiderate.

"Who knows what happens underground, the next thing will be an outbreak of diseases because of the water we are getting from these boreholes. Personally, I feel that this is not safe and the repercussions can be catastrophic," Ndlovu said.

Another resident who identified himself only as one Masuku, said Zanu-PF was fishing for votes while putting people's lives at risk.

"These Zanu-PF members drilling boreholes are only taking advantage of our desperate situation.  We know that it is part of their campaign strategy to fish for votes, but at what cost?

"We have a lot of Blair toilet structures around and what guarantee do we have that the water is not going to be polluted?  Something needs to be done urgently before we experience a serious disease outbreak."

Last year, Gwabalanda, Luveve and Cowdray Park were hit by a diarrhoea outbreak after residents consumed contaminated water.  This resulted in 13 deaths and 1 000 residents were hospitalised.

Cowdray Park councillor, Kidwell Mujuru urged residents to use council water.

"Residents receive water every 72 hours from council, I urge them to make use of it and those who get water from boreholes should boil the water first before consumption," he said.