An estimated number of 500 people in Zimbabwe are said to have died last year due to the local authorities’ failure to provide proper sanitation facilities and safe water.
The Local Government Minister for Public Works and National Housing Mr. Saviour Kasukuwere blamed the Movement of Democratic Tsvangirai (MDC-T) for running councils that are engaged in corrupt activities rather than focusing on service delivery.
The local authorities’ council is supposed to provide clean water for the residents as well as make necessary repairs of burst sewage pipes and waste collection.
The claims come amid allegations of MDC-T leader Edwin who is currently under investigation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission following an involvement in a tender supply of water chemicals to Harare which cost millions of dollars.
They have also been getting themselves pieces of land at the expense of service delivery.
Water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery are brought about by drinking contaminated water. From the statistics obtained from the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s weekly report, water-borne diseases are a major cause for concern as a total of 529 people died in 2016.
The figures are a cause for worry according to the health observers hence are calling on the Government to take action on the respective authorities. In late December, a total of 6,183 diarrhoea cases and ten deaths were reported.
These cases were in Kweke district in Midlands province, Mpilo Central Hospital, Harare Central Hospital and Chipinge district in Manicaland province. These are a majority cases in the urban areas where the MDC-T council is failing in the provision of basic services.
The situation is however expected to improve once the investigations are done and reallocation of resources for proper service delivery has been disbursed.
