By Chitownews citizen reporter- Admire Mutize.
St Mary,s – Chitungwiza Municipality in partnership with a Chinese firm has embarked on a project to upgrade the sewer reticulation system in the townships of St. Marys, Zengeza 1, Zengeza 2, Zengeza 3 and Zengeza 5. The project has created the much needed employment for dozens of youths who have been contracted by the Chinese firm.
When Chitownews toured the areas, dozens of workers clad in red helmets and blue overalls commandeered by Chinese engineers could be seen working in massive excavations, some of them three metres deep. According to a Zimbabwean official working for the Chinese firm who was interviewed by Chitownews on condition of anonymity the excavations and laying of new and bigger sewage pipes has been occasioned by the ballooning population in Chitungwiza which has surpassed the carrying capacity of the existing sewage reticulation network.
“The old sewage pipes had outlived their lifespan and carrying capacity leading to frequent blockages and sewer bursts but we can assure you that this will be a problem of the past once the new sewer system comes into operation”. He said.
Residents who spoke to Chitownews welcomed the developments and hoped it signalled the end of sewage bursts in their areas of residence. Mai Laila, a forty (40) year old resident of Zengeza 5 who had to evacuate her market stall near Zengeza 2 High School to make way for the civil works praised council for embarking on the much-needed and long overdue overhaul of the sewer system.
“Council is doing a great job together with the Chinese because this issue of raw sewage flowing in the streets was compromising the health of our children”, said Mai Laila.
The excavations have led to road closures inconveniencing motorists who have to find detours around the massive civil works. The situation was particularly bad on the road from Zengeza 5 to St. Marys opposite the old St. Marys cemetery which was closed forcing motorists to find detours in the dense bush surrounding the cemeterY.
A reliable source who is privy to information on financial matters at Chitungwiza Municipality said the sewer upgrades are funded by phase two of the donor supported ZIMFUND project. Phase one of the ZIMFUND project funded construction of state of art sewage treatment plants and phase twp is focused on replacing the main feeder lines the feed the sewage treatment plant, Phase three of the same project will replace the household feeder lines to complete an overhaul of Chitungwiza’s rundown sewage reticulation system/
