Repairing Zimbabwe’s infrastructure is recognized as a key strategy in tackling the cholera epidemic that by 1 April [2009] had claimed 4,127 lives [94,277 recorded cases since August 2008]. [...] The practice of digging shallow wells to draw water [...] is widely recognized as the flashpoint for the disease, because the collapse of sanitation systems coincided with the breakdown of the piped water system.
Sam Sipepa Nkomo, the minister responsible for water resources and management in the unity government [said] an audit of the state of water and sanitation infrastructure was being undertaken. [...] Initial estimates were that it would take US$28 million annually to buy water treatment chemicals.
[...] The immediate plan of action was to break down the response into three tiers, should money become available: emergency response, short-term, and a long-term plan for the provision of water and sanitation.
[...] “Initially, we had estimated that it would be around US$500 million, but every day we establish that most of the infrastructure might need to be totally replaced. The system is really a shell and has all but collapsed”, [says Barnabas Mangodza, chief executive officer of the Combined Harare Residents Association].
Former Harare mayor and engineer by profession Elias Mudzuri [said] that the decision by President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF in 2005 to transfer responsibility for providing water and sanitation from local to central government was the genesis of the cholera crisis. [...] “Sometime back in 2005 the responsibility of providing potable water to Harare was taken away from the city and given to ZINWA [Zimbabwe National Water Authority], which is a parastatal, and that was one of the most regrettable things to happen in this country,” he said.
Source: IRIN, 03 Apr 2009
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