By Shamaine Chirimujiri chirimujiris@dailynews.co.zw
TWENTY-SIX boreholes have been drilled in Mabvuku-Tafara by the constituency`s MP, Pedzayi Scott Sakupwanya, in an effort to address a water crisis that is being faced by residents.
This comes as the Harare City Council has for years now been struggling to provide potable water to the high density suburb, exposing residents’ lives to diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, Mabvuku-Tafara constituency development committee chairperson Tichaona Kasirori said the borehole programme was a welcome relief for residents that had enabled them to easily access clean water.
“We were having difficulties in accessing clean water. Residents last received tap water in the first week of February and since then we have been surviving on borehole water that was provided by our MP.
“Most residents had to queue up at the borehole from as early as 3am which was a danger to them because it would still be dark at that time. Violence always erupted at the borehole due to jostling for access to the precious liquid,” he said.
Kasirori said Sakupwanya had drilled 26 more boreholes while six more were still work in progress. “The residents are grateful for the borehole programme that was initiated by our MP. It is now easy for us to access safe water at the boreholes. We started to access water on March 10 after the boreholes were commissioned,” Kasirori said.
“When we engaged the MP, he swiftly addressed our challenges. As the constituency development committee, we are very happy to have an MP who walks the talk and urges other leaders to do likewise.”
Meanwhile, he said Sakupwanya pledged to install new sewer pipes in the constituency to replace the old ones that constantly choke, exposing residents to raw sewage.