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THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) needs to urgently attend to burst sewers in different parts of the city as they pose a serious health hazard to residents, especially in the face of the cholera outbreak in the country.

According to an update by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, as at January 17, the country had recorded 18 865 cholera cases, 2 223 confirmed cases, 18 137 recoveries, 71 confirmed deaths and 336 suspected deaths. 

These statistics should jolt BCC into action and attend to burst sewers, some of which have gone for almost a year without being attended to.

Residents have complained bitterly over the failure of BCC to attend to the burst sewers and we would like to remind the local authority that service delivery is not a favour to the community but a requirement.

Besides burst sewers, BCC also needs to be serious about refuse collection as that too could lead to the spread of cholera.

We sincerely hope that the BCC is not waiting for bodies to start piling up before they attend to these potential risks of spreading cholera. 

Yesterday, we carried a story on 70-year-old Mrs Christine Mkhwebo of Nkulumane’s Glenkara area who has had to endure raw sewage spilling at her house for more than nine months. 

She has to always cover her nose and mouth with a face mask to avoid inhaling the contaminated air which is also attracting pests.

So bad is the situation that the sewage has even clogged her drainage system, sparking fears of an outbreak of cholera, which has plagued some areas of the country.

Mrs Mkhwebo said she has on several occasions reported the matter to BCC and they only attended to the problem once.

“This started more than nine months ago. We woke up to find our drainage clogged with sewage and initially, I thought it was my sewer that had burst,” she said.

“I contacted the city council and they did come and they advised me that the entire pipe connecting all the houses in my street was blocked. Since my house is the last one in the line, all the waste is now clogging my yard.”

Mrs Mkhwebo said a few days after the sewer had been unclogged at her house it filled up again.

“I called the city council again, but they never came. The last time I went there they told me they do not have the necessary tools to unclog the drains for them to remove the sewage,” she said.

Mrs Mkhwebo said during hot days, the odour is unbearable.

“I need help in light of the outbreak of cholera in the country, I fear that we might end up contracting the disease. The city council has disappointed us and cleaning waste that is not even yours is a nightmare,” she said.