Residents of Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe’s largest dormitory town, have implored the local authority to urgently address the persistent water shortages plaguing the area.
The residents, represented by the Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST), have sent a letter of demand to the Chitungwiza Municipality, protesting the local authority’s failure to provide adequate, safe, and clean water to residents.
In the letter, which was written to Chitungwiza Municipality on 10 October 2024 by the residents association’s lawyers Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), CHITREST argues that the municipality’s failure to provide adequate, safe, and clean water violates the residents’ constitutional right to water and their right to a safe and healthy environment.
The water crisis worsened after the closure of the Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant, leaving Chitungwiza with only 1-3 megalitres of water during weekends, against a daily demand of at least 75 megalitres.
This dire situation has resulted in all 25 wards of Chitungwiza not receiving running and potable water, forcing residents to resort to unsafe sources like shallow wells and potentially contaminated boreholes, exposing them to waterborne diseases.
CHITREST has demanded that the municipality immediately provide clean water through bowsers, supply and equip all boreholes with chlorine tablets or chlorinators, and furnish the residents with a long-term plan to address the water crisis.
Failure to comply with these demands could result in CHITREST taking legal action against the local authority to compel it to address the unending water problems.
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