A KUWADZANA resident has taken the City of Harare to court to force it to immediately provide clean and potable water to the suburb in the face of a devastating cholera outbreak.
Wellington Mariga is also seeking a court order directing the council to deploy water bowsers within 24 hours.
Mariga cited the City of Harare, Health and Child Care minister Douglas Mombeshora and his Local Government counterpart, Winston Chitando as respondent.
Mariga said he lost a number of friends and relatives in 2008 to cholera and could not afford a repeat.
“What has moved me to make this application is also the fact that l felt l cannot sit on my laurels and allow the same scenario to repeat itself when such a consequence could be mitigated by supplying clean and safe drinking water,” he submitted.
“It is against this background that l am convinced that l have locus standi to institute these proceedings, since l have real and substantial interest in the matter.”
Mariga said he cited Kuwadzana, Dzivarasekwa and Glen Norah high-density suburbs in his application as they were some of the worst affected areas.
"The high-density suburbs fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Harare which is responsible for service delivery in terms of the Urban Councils Act,” he said.
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“This includes the provision of adequate, constant, clean and potable water to all residents.
“l must highlight that the provision of adequate, constant, clean and potable water by the City of Harare to residents, particularly in times of public health emergencies is both a statutory and constitutional imperative.”
He said the City of Harare had for many years failed in its duty to provide adequate, constant, clean and potable water to residents of Harare, resulting in recurrent cholera outbreaks.
“Some residents have not received any water supplies at all and have had to rely on shallow wells and boreholes for water. The consequences are too ghastly to contemplate.”
According to available statistics, at least 80% of recorded cholera cases in Harare have been traced to Kuwadzana.
Mariga said failure to provide clean water was a violation of his rights as provided for in section 77 of the Constitution.
“The situation clearly demands extraordinary interventions to improve water supply. Among interventions which could be critical is the immediate deployment of water bowsers to those areas with little to no access to adequate, constant, clean and potable water," he submitted.
