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Yeukai Karengezeka Herald Correspondent
Community Water Alliance, a civic organisation that monitors water governance issues, has urged the Chitungwiza Municipality to address its urban planning where some houses are built on top of sewer pipes, while residential stands have double allocations.

Programmes manager Mr Hardlife Mudzingwa said the local authority was supposed to address the issues as a matter of urgency.

“We demand that Chitungwiza Municipality address urban planning issues as a matter of urgency,” he said. “Allocation of residential stands should be done taking into consideration the man-made and natural infrastructure of water delivery,” he said.

He said the local authority was failing to deal with properties that were built on undesignated areas which are not fit for human habitation.

“Community Water Alliance staff were taken to Stand No. 2717 where a sewage tank is situated beneath the dining room of a residential stand allocated in contravention of provisions of city planning,” said Mr Mudzingwa. “The owner of the house complained that sewer bursts from the tank have affected hygiene standards at the house.

“Some stands have serious ownership battles emanating from double allocation of a single stand to multiple beneficiaries.

“A visit to House No.6825 confirmed that some roads have been closed by heaps of uncollected refuse dumped by residents and residents fear that water-borne diseases might hit the suburb if nothing is done to address the problem.”

Chitungwiza public relations officer Mr Lovemore Meya and the Town Clerk, Dr George Makunde, were not available for  comment