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HARARE’S DRAINAGE NIGHTMARE. . . Vendors sometimes hide their wares in drains when running away from the police

Roselyne Sachiti Features Editor
MONDAY November 16 was like any other normal working day for many Harare residents. Most left their homes early to get to work and settle in their offices before 8am. Vendors started displaying their wares on pavements, those who sell airtime and newspapers stood on “their” street corners as usual chatting and discussing social issues.

In some sections of town, illegal foreign currency dealers stood on street corners, prying on anyone they thought a perspective client. Taxi drivers parked their cars waiting for customers. Organised kombi chaos continued downtown.

Even though the sky looked grey, dull and somewhat saturated with water – promising to burst any moment – most people went about their daily routines.
It was one of those days in Harare.

A day when residents thought the weekend fever which still clung onto many had caught up with the sun resulting in its absence from Harare’s sky.
Others saw it as a good sign. The rains were coming. They prepared their fields.
But, around lunchtime, showers drizzled and became stronger. Heavy winds and a hailstorm followed.

The order of the day which seemed perfectly arranged changed. Harare’s water drainage system gave up. The streets flooded.
A fruit vendor along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Moses Mafuta, witnessed the events unfold.

“I knew something bad was coming. The wind was too strong. I ran for cover on a pavement. For a short while the water flowed into a drain close to where I was. But, in a few minutes it had begun swelling like there was a plug in the drain. Soon, the water was covering the pavements too,” recalled Mafuta.
He and his friends sought refuge in a shop close by. From the shop window, he saw the water level continue to rise, completely covering car wheels.

“We thought the wind would blow us away. We watched smaller cars almost disappear in the water,” he claimed.
In minutes to follow more rains fell, the wind blew. It was like heaven’s floodgates had been opened.
Were the gods angry?
Was Harare headed for disaster?

“I wished for the biblical Noah’s Ark. I thought the water would soon flood the cars,” added Mafuta.
Some properties were damaged in shops, forcing owners to close early as their workers battled to clear muddy water that had been diverted inside because of the failure of the drainage system, while some vehicles were damaged by trees toppled by the heavy rains.

A problem that comes each year, but not of the same magnitude, floods caused by a poor drainage system are clearly giving city officials a headache.
On his Facebook page, Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni said: “We had cleared the drains but the storm was a monster and made a mockery of our pre-season preps. My further checking today confirms regrettably that any downpour of this nature will still overwhelm our drainage capacity – I am sorry to report!
“I am also happy that the ‘suspect’ procurement deal which had been whispered to me turns out to have been competitively priced much to my relief and comfort.”

With such revelations, should Harare residents be worried? Should they brace for something worse?
The City of Harare’s Director of Works, Engineer Phillip Pfukwa, said there is nothing to worry about. The City of Harare, he said, reacted swiftly to the crisis by dispatching teams to unblock catch pits and stormwater drains following Monday’s flash floods that swept garbage into the city’s drainage system.

He said refuse, which ends up in storm- water drains, is the major culprit urging residents, visitors and the business community to properly and correctly dispose of their garbage.

“The first rains always cause flash floods that sweep litter from the streets and pavements into catch pits and the stormwater drains. Council routinely does maintenance of the catch pits and stormwater drains but is always overtaken by the first rains,” he said.

He accused some shop owners, especially in downtown Harare, for offloading their garbage into alleys and pavements of their shops yet there are garbage collection trucks dedicated to service the CBD.

“Illegal vendors (pavement economy) are also to blame for the blockages since they are operating in areas that are not serviced with bins. This is one of the reasons why council is calling for the re- organisation of vendors citywide,” he said.

Eng Pfukwa added that all vendors trading on unplanned places should register and be allocated slots on the 12 legal vending sites.
“The result of that careless behaviour is the choking of the storm water drains and the subsequent inconvenience to the pedestrian and motoring public,” he added.

Routine checks on the availability of the required number of bins per shop would be carried out, he warned, with those who do not comply being fined and made to buy the bins.

“Businesses and residents should take responsibility of the frontage of their premises through the clearing of blocked stormwater drains and culverts. City by-laws make it mandatory for property owners to take that charge,” he added.

President of the Zimbabwe Institute of Regional and Urban Planners Mr Percy Toriro said in Harare the problem is not so much about the inadequacy of drains.

“In fact, the city was well designed with a complex network of stormwater drains. “What is required is periodic clearing of the drains particularly before the rainy season,” he said.

In the city centre or CBD in particular, he added, many of the drains which are underground cannot function efficiently without regular maintenance.

“The erratic maintenance schedules coupled with poor refuse management has caused the failure of the system. Unfortunately the rains started off heavy and hence things fell apart and roads got flooded,” explained Mr Toriro, a former City of Harare town planner.

He added: “Underground drains have the advantage that you don’t see them and they don’t take up space for other uses.
“However they must always be fully functional particularly in summer. Due to the seasonal nature of our rains, it is very easy to forget about them until it is too late. We can only hope that what happened with the first storms provides a useful lesson on programmed maintenance for our city leaders.”

He also said the council was not the only one to blame for the flooding. Part of the problem causing drainage blockage in Harare, he explained, is poor refuse management by both municipal cleaning staff and the public.

“It is not uncommon to see street sweepers pushing refuse into catch-pits and other drains on the streets. Of course some of the waste will build up and block the drains. The public is equally to blame in some instances. We are always throwing litter everywhere without considering where it ultimately ends up.

Vendors also sometimes hide their wares in drains when running away from the police. All those negative behaviours must be addressed in order to address the causal factors,” he posited.

Mr Toriro said private companies could help solve this problem.
“Those that have equipment for unclogging drains can assist council now that the authorities are overwhelmed by the work that must be done.
“Others can supply bins so that all litter finds itself in refuse receptacles. Those in the public relations sector can help raise awareness on the need to keep drains open and clean. For those with strong environmental cultures they can help with capacity building on sorting and reducing waste. The problem with our drainage system is essentially a waste management issue and any solution must integrate the two,” he reiterated.
He said drain management is important and should be prioritised.

“Huge losses can occur to both property and lives once flooding occurs. It is therefore important that both the public and authorities in Harare treat this issue as both urgent and important,” he added.

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