Raw sewage has been pouring straight into the Hunyani River for over seven years, and that river feeds Lake Chivero, where Harare draws its untreated water.
Chitungwiza Town Council has gone that entire stretch with zero working treatment capacity, per the Auditor-General, who flagged the municipality for falling short of what the Urban Councils Act demands. Decades of thin spending wrecked the pipes, and bursts keep popping off in neighborhoods and business zones alike.
Municipal spokesperson Tafadzwa Kachiko laid it out. Zengeza Sewage Treatment Works houses two setups, a conventional plant and a Biological Nutrient Removal plant, and neither one runs. He added that fixing sewerage means fixing water supply first, since you need real flow to move waste anywhere.
Council says work is happening. A contractor is rehabbing 4.7 kilometers of outfall lines, while in-house crews patch another 9.88 kilometers with donated piping.
Reviving the actual plant, though, is way past what the budget can absorb. A public-private deal collapsed before it started, and officials are shopping around for someone new to bankroll it.
Chitungwiza Town Council has gone that entire stretch with zero working treatment capacity, per the Auditor-General, who flagged the municipality for falling short of what the Urban Councils Act demands. Decades of thin spending wrecked the pipes, and bursts keep popping off in neighborhoods and business zones alike.
Municipal spokesperson Tafadzwa Kachiko laid it out. Zengeza Sewage Treatment Works houses two setups, a conventional plant and a Biological Nutrient Removal plant, and neither one runs. He added that fixing sewerage means fixing water supply first, since you need real flow to move waste anywhere.
Council says work is happening. A contractor is rehabbing 4.7 kilometers of outfall lines, while in-house crews patch another 9.88 kilometers with donated piping.
Reviving the actual plant, though, is way past what the budget can absorb. A public-private deal collapsed before it started, and officials are shopping around for someone new to bankroll it.
