Hopley Residents Fetch Water From Graveyard
Residents of the Harare suburb of Hopley are now fetching water for domestic use from a graveyard due to severe water challenges facing the area.
A Hopely resident, Vimbai Sanyama (25), told VOA News that they are no longer afraid of dying as they have been left with no other alternative.
Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organisation in Zimbabwe, Alex Gasasira has warned that drinking water from a well in a graveyard risks exposure to diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera. He said:
People drinking water from an open-source that is likely to be contaminated could suffer from [water] borne diseases, we have very many waterborne diseases, and this can cause a lot of suffering and death.
The normal epidemic diseases, diarrheal diseases: typhoid, cholera. We know that different types of neglected tropical diseases, so all these are a big concern to me.
Hopely residents have criticised politicians for making false promises about solving the water shortages, saying once they are elected, they do nothing.
July Moyo, the Local Government Minister told VOA News that he was not aware that people have become desperate enough to use water from a graveyard.
Moyo promised that his Ministry will look into the issue and provide a solution.
