IT is a few minutes before midday and the new Makombe complex, which is now handling passport applications, is a hive of activity.
Hordes of e-passport seekers patiently queue outside
awaiting their turn to submit their documents.
Many, especially first-timers, are excited at the prospect
of having a passport hoping to seek better opportunities beyond the country’s
borders.
But something is tarnishing this new building. An
occasional putrid smell wafts from the new complex’s toilets and green buzzing
flies make frequent visits from the toilets.
Many a time, the toilets are either out of order or have no
running water.
And just around the corner next to the new complex is the
old Makombe building and between the two buildings is a small alley, which is
being used by people seeking to relieve themselves because they cannot do so at
the new complex.
Both men and women take turns to use the same stretch in
the alley.
A recent visit by NewsDay observed that the practice
causing discomfort to those seeking passports and other identification
particulars.
“While we applaud the smooth process for acquiring the
world-class e-passport, we are unhappy about the lack of functional toilets,”
Saidi Mlauzi from Glen View said.
He said people had devised a strategy whereby men go to the
open space in a group and leave behind one to alert women.
When the male group is done, women follow suit, completely
oblivious of people in the adjacent building.
The stench emanating from the alleyway is nauseating.
“Sometimes we can see people watching from the windows. It
is de-humanising and a clear violation of our dignity as women,” said an
elderly woman who requested anonymity.
Walking along the narrow path is quite a task and it is
tantamount to skating through a minefield as one needs to carefully negotiate
around faeces and pools of urine.
There is an old toilet just after turning the corner, which
also overflows with all sorts of excreta.
Those, who are brave enough, end up sneaking into the dingy
space, but many prefer the open space.
Outside the door of this old toilet is old furniture which
is rotting along with everything
else.
Officials at the new complex said the toilets were
overwhelmed and the scarcity of water exacerbated the situation.
“Even when they are open to the public, the situation in
there is disgusting. Clients are too many and the system is failing to cope,”
said one official who declined to be named because he is not authorised to
speak to the Press.
The passport office is handling an average of between 900
and 1 200 applications per day.
A few metres away from the alleyway, vendors sell their
foodstuff, occasionally swatting away green flies on their way to and from the
alley.
They, too, use the same open space as toilets and rarely
wash their hands before handling the food they sell.
According to the World Health Organisation, open defecation
perpetuates a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.
It creates breeding ground for diseases like diarrhoea and
cholera.
When human waste collects into heaps, it attracts flies and
other insects.
These flies then go around the surrounding area, carrying
bacteria and disease-causing microbes, which they may deposit on food or
drinks.
In such cases, the flies act as direct transmitters of
diseases such as cholera.
The director for environmental health in the Health
ministry, Victor Nyamandi, had not responded to NewsDay questions by the time
of going to print last night.
Meanwhile, down the road (along Leopold Takawira Street)
just after the Girls High School main gate is a mountain of garbage that has
been piling up for weeks.
Street children and touts are also using the pile as a
cover while relieving themselves.
Many have raised concerns over uncollected garbage in
Harare central business district, but the local authority has failed to live up
to its billing and turn Harare into a first-class city.
In February, the authorities promised that garbage
collection would improve following the purchase of 10 new refuse compactors,
five skip trucks, and one front-end loader. Newsday
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