THE Government has revealed that human waste was found in
water that was supplied to Luveve suburb in Bulawayo which resulted in the
outbreak of Typhoid and Dysentery which has killed 13 people in the suburb.
Local Government and Public Works Minister, Cde July Moyo
told Sunday News in an interview in Bulawayo yesterday that Government has
since dispatched the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) to conduct more
tests.
“Once the outbreak occurred, the underlying causes were
identified, these being the water which was not available, there was also
contamination where it was demonstrated that some of the water had faeces which
was beyond the standards that are allowed by the Standards Association of
Zimbabwe.
“We have also dispatched experts from the Environmental
Management Agency to conduct its own investigations, to help guide our
response. We now know that the treatment of water and that of sewage has largely
contributed to the outbreak. The city and the Government are now working to
correct the anomaly so that we give comfort to our residents,” said Minister
Moyo.
The announcement by the Government comes as the local
authority yesterday revealed that to date 13 confirmed deaths have been
recorded.
City Health Director Dr Edwin Sibanda said while last week
there were reports that 17 deaths had occurred its official figure stood at 13,
noting that in some cases there could be community deaths that had to be
investigated first.
“So far we have 1 798 confirmed cases and 13 verified
deaths. The majority of those that have been affected are of the five to 20
years old age group,” said Dr Sibanda.
To add to the local authority’s woes a Bulawayo based
non-governmental organisation has accused the local authority of avoiding
responsibility for the typhoid crisis.
Community Action Group for Good Governance (CAGGG) accused
council of seeking to apportion blame on other parties while removing
themselves from the picture.
CAGGG chairperson Mrs Nikiwe Ncube-Tshabalala said council
was trying by all means to avoid liability as shown by their initial efforts to
accuse people of using open wells and streams for their water.
“When a Government delegation from Harare came to tour the
suburb council officials took them to wells, a sign they were implying these
were the causes of the diarrhoea outbreak when people clearly indicated there
was something amiss with tap water and they even found tissue particles in tap
water.
“While some residents used wells, they have stated that it
was only a few,” she said.
Mrs Nikiwe Ncube-Tshabalala said it was critical for the
city council to be forthcoming in releasing information about the crisis and
has written a letter demanding the local authority be open and transparent in
the manner they are going about in solving the outbreak.
She said her organisation had engaged residents and were
taking some of the sick to a private surgery, with 24 residents having been
assisted by yesterday morning.
The residents under the banner Bulawayo Progressive
Residents’ Association (BPRA) had also sought a court order compelling council
to release vital information relating to the outbreak, which they had intended
to use against the council in a lawsuit. However, the residents last week
withdrew their court challenge, saying they had reached an amicable resolution
with the council. Sunday News
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