Chitown MPs grill Minister over sewer, town clerk, Nyatsime mess

By ALBERT MASAKA

CHITUNGWIZA legislators on Tuesday grilled Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister, Benjamin Kabikira over service delivery challenges plaguing the town with the MPs demanding answers from government on how it will address the sewer, town clerk and Nyatsime crises, a thorn in the flesh of residents for years.

In response, Kabikira said the government plans to make Chitungwiza Council a water authority to improve the town’s water supply and alleviate the sewer challenges.

“The Central Government is working on making Chitungwiza a water authority, which would improve the supply of water to the town and ultimately, alleviate the sewer problem,” he said.

St Mary’s legislator, Brighton Mazhindu, had asked the government if it had any strategies to address the persistent sewer blockages, and associated public health risks in Zengeza 1 and St Mary’s

Mazhindu expressed concerns on whether the council will succeed as in the past similar sewer pipe replacement projects it was currently carrying out had not produced results due to the lack of a consistent supply of water.

Kabikira had attributed the perennial sewer challenges to the lack of reticulated water and announced that Chitungwiza is set to benefit from the Kunzvi Dam project, which will improve water supply.

 “Chitungwiza is also set to benefit from Kunzvi Dam whereby supply of water to the town is expected to improve,” he said.

The Deputy Minister also revealed that the government was exploring public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address the sewer challenges.

However, Zengeza West MP, Innocent Zvaipa, raised concerns about effluent flowing into residents’ homes, making them uninhabitable.

“My question is, whilst the pipes are being fixed, how long is it going to take whilst people have this affluent flowing into their homes because homes have become inhabitable?” he asked.

Kabikira cited a lack of skilled workers and construction equipment as major challenges but promised to provide assistance.

“From the report that I am getting, I have been informed that we now have qualified staff and have enough staff. The other challenge that was there was that the construction equipment was not enough but as a Ministry, we bought yellow machines equipment which has been allocated to councils so that they solve the different challenges,” he said.

The MPs also grilled the Deputy Minister about the absence of a substantive Town Clerk in Chitungwiza for over a decade. Kabikira explained that due process must be followed, but Zvaipa disputed this, citing a court ruling that the Town Clerk and council cannot work together.

“So, for the Town Clerk to come back, it is not possible. It is now 10 years since the town clerk is not at work. As a Ministry, are there no other interventions that you can employ in order to assist the people so that another Town Clerk can be employed?” Zvaipa asked.

Kabikira said the Ministry has taken steps to resolve the issue and conclude the deliberations by asking Chitungwiza to avail all the communications between council and the Town Clerk.

“So, the Ministry wrote a letter to the council so that the council can furnish the Ministry with the severance package of the Town Clerk. So, we are still waiting for that communication and once we receive that letter, then we would expedite the successful completion of this issue,” he said.

Nyatsime Housing Scheme

Mazhindu also raised concerns about  the fate of thousands of beneficiaries of the Nyatsime Housing Scheme who purchased residential stands from Chitungwiza Municipality in 2007 but have yet to take occupation.

In response, Kabikira said that the scheme falls under the jurisdiction of both Chitungwiza Municipality and Manyame Rural District Council.

However, he confirmed  that the Nyatsime Housing Scheme falls within Longlands and Braemer farms, allocated to Chitungwiza Municipality for urban development.

“However, Chitungwiza  when the Municipality proceeded to develop a layout and subsequently allocated stands arising from the layout to various beneficiaries, the scheme suffered setbacks arising from litigation by two A2 farmers who had been previously allocated farming plots in Braemer.

“The Ministry, in its wisdom, then decided to constitute a Manyame-Chitungwiza Joint Committee with the intention of bringing sanity to the area. This is because part of the Nyatsime area falls under the jurisdiction of the Manyame Rural District Council in Mashonaland East Province,” he said.

However, currently the Joint Committee was no not active. Notwithstanding the role of the Joint Committee, Chitungwiza Municipality has remained committed to administering the Nyatsime Housing Scheme as provided under Section 205 (1) of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15], he said

The Deputy Minister said the Ministry was seized with the issue and will do its best to resolve these challenges and urged beneficiaries to approach both councils for assistance.

“The Chitungwiza Municipality has since called for beneficiaries to visit Council offices with a view to verifying beneficiaries as part of the process of identifying property owners under the scheme. The two planning authorities, that is, Chitungwiza Municipality and Manyame Rural District Council, are to address challenges relating to the land in question.

 “As the Ministry, it is also seized with the issue and will be assisting the Municipality of Chitungwiza to address all the outstanding challenges bedevilling the scheme. The legal functionaries within the Ministry, together with the Minister of Lands and the affected councils are working on navigating the legal hurdles in addressing the issues in Nyatsime.”

Zvaipa asked what will happen to those who bought the land that was now illegally occupied by others.

“The other issue that was raised by the Minister is that this is a joint programme between Manyame and Chitungwiza. I believe that this is not correct because the people bought from Chitungwiza Municipality without Manyame. However, if they are told to approach both Manyame and Chitungwiza, then they are being led astray. So, from the situation, the question is, do we have alternative land to allocate them?”

The deputy minister said government were seized that the issue, since it affected many people and has held several  meetings with the Chitungwiza and Manyame councils, to understand where the issue stands.

Flooding and Sewerage Issues

Mazhindu also asked about measures to address recurrent flooding in areas such as Manyame Park and the construction of houses along the Manyame River.

Kabikira said Chitungwiza is prosecuting those involved in illegal developments and plans to embark on regularization to remove settlements on riverbanks.

“Council is also planning to embark on regularisation, whereby those settled in areas that are not habitable, such as riverbanks will be removed. This will alleviate the problem caused by settlements on river banks,” he said.

Godfrey Sithole, Chitungwiza North MP, asked about a comprehensive report on addressing sewerage problems in Chitungwiza. Kabikira said the council is planning to embark on regularization and prosecution of those involved in illegal developments.

The government’s efforts to address the sewerage and flooding issues in Chitungwiza are ongoing, but the residents are eagerly awaiting tangible results. The parliamentary session served as a reminder of the need for urgent action to address the challenges facing the town.