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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
ALMOST 50 percent of Bulawayo’s public toilets have been shut down due to vandalism, a development that has raised health concerns in the city.

Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said council was struggling to maintain most ablution facilities and blamed some of the city’s residents for the vandalism saying that was creating maintenance challenges for the BCC.

Clr Moyo said this recently while commissioning public toilets situated at the corner of Robert Mugabe Way and 8th Avenue that were upgraded following a Public Private Partnership the municipality entered with Unilever through its Domestos Brand.

“The city has 97 blocks of public toilets yet more than half of these have been closed down as a result of constraints experienced by the council in maintaining them. Vandalism has been of major concern especially with public toilets, making it very difficult for the city to maintain them and keep them usable at all times,” he said.

Clr Moyo said some residents engaged in deplorable unhygienic practices when using public facilities.

He said residents should take ownership of public facilities as they are there to assist them.

“It’s important to ensure that we keep these toilets clean and in a good state. The city of Bulawayo endeavours to maintain the remaining functional toilets in a usable state but it faces a lot of challenges. Some sections of our community are not responsible enough to leave a toilet in a clean state they found it in while others vandalise the sanitary equipment within the facilities whereas other steal components that rightly belong to the community,” Clr Moyo said.

Unilever’s managing director for Zimbabwe Mr Hilary Muzondiwa said the company was partnering local authorities in rehabilitating ablution facilities to stop the spread of preventable diseases.

“Lack of proper sanitation is a serious health risk to people. Addressing this issue will help accelerate progress towards United Nations Global Goals to improve access to water and sanitation through Domestos owning the toilet project,” said Mr Muzondiwa.