Angelah Nothando Mlotshwa
Environment and Health Reporter
The government recently banned the use of Blair toilets which are seen as old-fashioned.
The National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe aired out that Blair toilets were obsolete and no longer suitable for rural areas, therefore encouraging the adoption of new flushable toilets through an upgrade on the existing infrastructure.
“Government has banned the use of the outdated pit latrines, Blair, and open defecation. In their place come new flushable toilets under an affordable model which is smart and suitable for the rural system. Unlike the urban flush system which uses nine liters of water the new system only requires two liters for flushing. The new flush system is also cost-effective as it uses existing infrastructure allaying the fears of possible demolitions on the toilets being used,” he said.
In Bulawayo, some urban areas in the dormitory suburb of Cowdray Park use Blair toilets.
With the water woes worsening each passing day, Blair toilets are an option to avoid the use of bush toilets which will affect the environment and Health of people.
“According to the Constitution, water is a basic resource that should be available to every citizen but it is being flagrantly violated by the City of Bulawayo which has a humongous like for disregarding the laws and even the constitution which is the Supreme law of the land. Our residents are now forced to purchase water, while others resorted to going to neighboring areas with buckets, bottle containers”, said Bulawayo Zimbabwe National Organisation of Association and Residents Trust Chairperson Ryan Mpofu.
“We are getting used to not having a power supply, which is not fair, but having no access to water is unbearable. We have to cook for our families, and we have to use the toilet, but this seems impossible. Imagine spending two days without taking a bath because we resort to using the small amount of water we had collected for cooking and drinking rather than prioritizing hygiene”, added Mpofu.
In an interview with ZIM GBC NEWS Bulawayo United Residents Association Chairman Winos Dube decried the overwhelming water crisis affecting Bulawayo.
“This is just a terrible crisis we are in!!”, he said.
The Blair Toilet (a.k.a. Blair Latrine) is a pit toilet designed in the 1970s. It was a result of large-scale projects to improve rural sanitation in Rhodesia under UDI at the Blair Research Institute, and then deployed further during the 1980s after Zimbabwean Independence.
ZIM GBC NEWS 2023