HARARE City Council (HCC) has pointed fingers at central government, accusing it of sabotaging its efforts to address the city’s perennial drainage woes, which have led to devastating floods in numerous residential areas.
Council’s frustration comes as residents face the aftermath of heavy rains that have overwhelmed the city’s inadequate drainage systems.
HCC, through its Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) ward 16 councillor Denford Ngadziore told NewsDay yesterday that they have repeatedly sought government approval to employ ward-based workers on three-month contracts to undertake drainage and grass-cutting tasks, a critical programme that historically runs from December to March.
However, Ngadziore said for over three months, their requests have gone unanswered, leaving council initiatives in limbo and the city vulnerable to flooding.
“The whole of Harare is flooding.
Government is sabotaging City of Harare drainage and grass cutting programme. Resolution was made early November and to date no response from government yet.”
“Floods are caused by poor drainage system. It’s over three months as council we are still waiting for government approval to employ ward-based three-month contract workers for drainage and grass cutting. We have serious floods in Bloomingdale, Ashdown Park, Matidoda, Lenana Park and Nkwisi Gardens,” Ngadziore said.
He said the situation had been compounded by the loss of essentials, including Christmas groceries, which were meant to sustain families during the holiday period.
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“Some residents lost their Christmas groceries during this holiday season. For all the years council has been employing contract workers for drainage clearance and grass cutting. This programme usually takes place from December, January, February and March,” he said.
Efforts to get comment from Local Government minister Daniel Garwe were fruitless as his phone rang unanswered.
