[So much for operation “Cleanup”. Harare is a mess. I saw a news bulletin last night showing how there is a boom in the sales of bicycles and motor cycles because there just isn’t enough fuel for cars. One black man said he walks 23km to work every day! The country is in a desperate state thanks to Mugabenomics! The theory and practise of Marxism are two very different things, as Zimbabweans will learn. All of these things to “help the poor” are nothing but complete lies. Jan]

LACK of adequate financial resources seriously compromised the operation of Harare City Council last year, virtually reducing what was once the “Sunshine City” to a “fly and rodent city”, says the latest report by the local authority.

The 2004 Annual Report of the Harare City health Department released last week, expressed concern over the deteriorating health and hygienic state of Harare as flies and rodents invaded the city due to erratic collection of refuse.

The report said there was erratic collection of refuse due to lack of transport or aging municipal refuse fleet, which spend most of the time in the garages. This resulted in dumping of refuse by residents at almost every available space in both low and high-density residential areas, industrial and commercial areas, the report noted.

Decomposing refuse continues to pile up in most suburbs of Harare, exposing residents to serious health hazards. In high density areas of Mufakose, Kambuzuma, Budiriro, Dzivarasekwa and Glen View swams of flies could be seen in most of the dumping areas. Choking stench and swarms of flies are a common occurrence in most of the high-density areas. “The dumping resulted in fly and rodent infestation and smells from dumped refuse,” said the report.

In a foreword to the report, Lovemore Mbengeranwa, head of Harare City’s Health Department, said the lack of funds severely affected the operations of the already financial beleaguered authority. “The perennial shortage of funds resulting from a dysfunctional budget completely paralysed council operations,” Mbengeranwa said.

During the course of the year, private firms contracted to collect refuse in Harare stopped after the city council failed to pay them. The private contractors collected 44 percent of the refuse, while the council was responsible for 56 percent.

“Some of the contractors had cash problems because council did not pay them on time. As a result of erratic collection of refuse by contractors, council had to move in time and again service the affected areas,” said the report.

Companies contracted to collect refuse by the Harare City Council include Broadway Services, Encore Consolidated Waste and Cleansing and Environment Services. Residents complained that the council continued to charge for refuse collection when it was not providing such a service.

Godfrey Muswanhi of Kambuzuma said: “I am worried that the council is robbing us of our hard-earned cash. We are paying for services, which are not being rendered, its daylight robbery.”

Environmental problems in Harare were further exacerbated by the introduction of water rationing in the city, with some suburbs such as Waterfalls, Tafara and Mabvuku going for over two weeks without a drop of water. The city council attributed the water crisis to mechanical breakdowns that were experienced at Morton Jaffray Water Works.

Some residents resorted to fetching water from unprotected wells for domestic use, exposing their families to serious health hazards. “This impacted negatively on the quality of the environment whilst putting the health of the residents at risk to infectious disease outbreaks,” read the 173-page report.

Source: AllAfrica.Com
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200507180487.htm…/p>