Sewer bursts fuel disease outbreaks in Bulawayo

Bulawayo's worsening sewer bursts have been blamed for a spike in disease outbreaks, with residents forced to live alongside raw sewage flowing near or even into their homes.

The concerns were highlighted in the latest Bulawayo City Council (BCC) sewerage section report, where Pumula Ward 17 councillor Sikhululekile Moyo warned that the persistent sewer bursts and overflows in her area had triggered a diarrhoea outbreak.

"Most residents complained of diarrhoea and other related health challenges," the report noted, with Moyo urging council to step up strategies and allocate more resources to contain the problem.

Other councillors echoed the concerns, warning that sewer bursts near boreholes posed serious health risks as many residents rely on borehole water for domestic use despite repeated council warnings against drinking it.

Councillor Adrian Moyo criticised poor communication on fault repairs, proposing the creation of a computerised dashboard to track reports, progress, and challenges in addressing bursts. "The dashboard will allow councillors to monitor feedback," he said.

Councillor Tinevimbo Maposa called for decentralised services, saying more teams were needed to tackle sewage challenges across the city. He cited a case of a blind resident whose home had sewage overflowing inside and had gone unattended.

Councillor Shepherd Sithole also noted that sewer bursts were increasing and blamed transport shortages facing council plumbers. Deputy mayor Edwin Ndlovu suggested renewing contracts for community plumbers to ease the pressure.

Mayor David Coltart backed the dashboard proposal, saying it was vital for council to generate weekly reports. "Council has enough plumbers. The major challenge is vehicles and this cuts across all departments," he said.

The worsening sewage crisis has heightened health fears, with calls mounting for urgent interventions to prevent further outbreaks in Zimbabwe's second-largest city.