Zim GBC News | Health and Environment
CHIREDZI – A staggering sanitation crisis has gripped Chiredzi Rural District, with more than 20,000 households still relying on bush toilets, as the local authority moves to impose fines for non-compliance, officials have revealed.
Out of approximately 26,000 households in the district, only 3,072 — a paltry 11 percent — have proper ablution facilities, according to statistics presented during a full council meeting.
Chief Executive Officer Ailes Baloyi told the council that the situation was unacceptable and that a tough stance would be taken this year.
“This year we will be fining every household that has no toilets as a way of encouraging residents to construct ablution facilities. Only 3,072 households have ablution facilities out of 26,000 that we have,” said Baloyi.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Baloyi said the message was simple: every household should have a toilet.
“The message is simple, every household should have a toilet. We are going to work with traditional leaders at all levels as well as councillors to make sure that people heed our call and comply,” said Baloyi.
He said the challenge was concentrated in communal and resettlement areas, noting that public places such as business centres and markets already had ablution facilities, with more being constructed.
Baloyi emphasised that even simple pit latrines covered with metal sheets or tents would suffice as a temporary measure, as long as households have somewhere sanitary to relieve themselves to curb disease outbreaks.
“We are basing our assessment on statistics from the Zimbabwe Local Government Association (Zimlac),” he added.
The council also announced plans to introduce solid waste management systems at household level to address environmental challenges and further curb disease outbreaks.
In a separate matter, the district vowed to follow proper promotion procedures, pledging to only upgrade employees who possess the requisite qualifications for advertised posts.
“I want to assure you that we will not promote someone who has no qualifications for the post,” said Baloyi, disclosing that a skills audit and job evaluation exercise was conducted in 2025 and would guide future promotions.
The commitment follows a bitter dispute at neighbouring Chiredzi Town Council, where three consecutive full council meetings were rocked by near-physical altercations over a move to promote an employee without the required academic qualifications.
On corruption, Baloyi announced the establishment of an anti-corruption team to be headed by the Internal Auditor, warning:
“Those who have been reportedly involved in corruption activities, you should begin winding up as we no longer entertain such here.”
ECONET EXPOSED FOR DODGING BASE STATION PAYMENTS
Meanwhile, telecommunications giant Econet Wireless has been exposed for operating base stations in Chiredzi town without paying required monthly fees to the local authority, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
The matter came to light during the 68th ordinary full council meeting when Ward 7 councillor Brighton Mahiya raised the alarm after Econet sought permission to construct a new base station at Shineplus Residential Park.
“I want to ask if these mobile operators are paying for these base stations to the local authority, both Econet and NetOne, as I once heard that they haven’t paid a dime since they began operating,” said Mahiya.
Finance Director Lloyd Musasa confirmed the suspicion, revealing that each base station was supposed to attract a monthly fee of US$350 — but the operator had not been remitting payments.
“I think there is a resolution on the amount which should be paid by these mobile operators and they have not been paying anything to the local authority. This means we need to backdate their payments from the time they started operating,” said Musasa.
Efforts to get a comment from Econet Wireless were unsuccessful, as the company’s public relations office requested written questions but had not responded by the time of publication.
Chiredzi Town Secretary Consider Kubiku referred questions back to Musasa, saying:
“Unfortunately I was not in the meeting and I think the best person to answer those questions is the finance director.”
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