MUTARE City Council has admitted that it made an administrative blunder by disbanding the malaria control unit at a time the disease was wreaking havoc in the city.
BY KENNETH NYANGANI
Speaking during a full council meeting yesterday, town clerk Joshua Maligwa confirmed the increase in malaria-causing mosquitoes in the city, saying they had written to the Local Government ministry seeking approval to urgently resuscitate the department and employ 25 workers.
‘’I have been discussing the issues of malaria with the mayor, Tatenda Nhamarare. We agreed that we made a mistake to disband the malaria control unit. We were given sprays to kill mosquitoes, but we are facing a shortage of manpower as some areas have not yet been sprayed,’’ he said.
“As council, we have agreed to employ 25 workers in the section to do the spraying and clearing of grass in Nyamauru River among others, but you can’t employ workers for a period of six months without notifying the Local Government ministry. So, we wrote them three weeks ago and we are expecting them to respond this week because this has to do with health and this is important.’’
Councillor Tarwirei Mabika weighed in saying that he was not happy with malaria reports.
‘’Many people are sick with malaria in Mutare and this is widespread in the entire city we cant even single out an area,’’ he said.
