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Michael Magoronga Midlands Correspondent

Gokwe Town Council has moved in to rehabilitate ablution and sanitation facilities in the town as a measure to prevent a possible cholera outbreak.

The move comes at a time when the country is trying to contain cholera and typhoid outbreaks that broke out in Harare and Gweru, respectively.

Over 30 people have died of cholera, while eight people succumbed to typhoid in Gweru, all owing to water contamination.

Cholera was also detected in Gokwe North where about 10 cases were reported, but were all contained.

Gokwe Town Secretary Ms Melania Mandeya said they were intensifying precautionary measures by rehabilitating toilets and improving water supply at Gokwe Centre and surrounding areas.

“We are taking precautionary measures and we do not want to be caught unawares. So we have embarked on the rehabilitation of some toilets that have been disused and dumped for a long time as they may become a health hazard,” said Ms Mandeya.

Plans, she said, were also underway to construct new toilets to increase accessibility.

“In addition to the existing toilets, while the majority of them need repairs we are also constructing new ones since Gokwe has one of the biggest population,” she said.

The local authority has also scaled up measures to improve water supply.

“We already have our tanks in place. We are now working on the connection of pipes so that water can be available at markets, rank and toilets. Our toilets should be cleaned using the water that we intend to connect,” she said.

The sanitation and toilet programme will also spread into schools and health facilities.

“We are taking the same programme to schools and our clinics and hospitals as these are hotspots that are likely to breed water borne diseases like cholera and typhoid. But we are saying this can only be done through maintaining high hygiene standards,” she said.

She said council has partnered other stakeholders in educating the residents about maintaining a clean environment.

“As part of maintaining a clean environment, we have moved vendors to designated areas where they can have access to clean water and toilets. We also have partnered with a number of stakeholders through the CPU to educate the public about maintaining a clean environment to prevent diseases,” she said.

There have been growing calls by Gokwe residents for the local authority to consider constructing more ablution facilities as there were only a few that were still operational toilets at Gokwe Centre.