EDITORIAL COMMENT : City of Harare must deliver or ship out

• Published date: 03 January 2017
• Publication title: The Herald

THE rains are upon us. They have brought joy for residents. It means a rise in water levels at sources that supply Harare like Lake Chivero. The water levels at Lake Chivero had significantly dwindled. This forced council to announce a tight water rationing schedule.span an

The opening up of the skies promised a bumper harvest too for the urban farmer in as much as it cooled the undisciplined temperatures characteristic of summer seasons.

But the rains exposed City of Harare badly. The evidence is everywhere for anyone with eyes to see. There are now potholes even in the city centre. It has become a nightmare for motorists to navigate the potholed roads be it along Second Street Extension, Seke Road, Chiremba Road or Simon Mazorodze.

So dangerous have the roads become with motorists ramming into each other as they avoid the potholes.

As this is not enough, the situation has been exacerbated by a poor drainage system that has turned roads into rivers hiding the menacing potholes when it rains. A motorist would only discover the existence of a pothole after falling victim.

The drainage system is pretty clogged creating man-made dams on the roads. The Westgate roundabout is one such an example. The drainage holes are there, but are chocked to allow any smooth flow of water.

The sad story of what has become of Harare does not end there. Mountains of uncollected garbage are visible in most suburbs. Council came up with a refuse collection timetable which it seldom obeys. This has seen residents dumping garbage on open spaces in most suburbs.

In Mbare and other high density suburbs, blocked sewer is now the order of the day. It is flowing...