BY PRIMROSE HAISA
MUZARABANI Growth Point has in the past six months recorded 12 cases of typhoid after electrical faults affected the supply of running water, forcing residents to fetch the precious liquid direct from the Musengezi River.
Muzarabani ward 18 councillor Norman Chizeya said the growth point had been without running water for the past six months after Zesa failed to replace a transformer that was burnt.
This has affected the provision of water to the 800 households at the business centre with residents resorting to using bush toilets in the absence of running water.
“We have recorded 12 cases of typhoid since November last year, four of them women, two men and six children because of the water problems caused by the electrical fault,” said Chizeya “The whole population at the growth point is at risk of water-borne diseases. We are now using bush toilets because system toilets need running water and there is no water to do that.”
The community, Chizeya said, was also afraid that due to the water crises, schoolchildren could be stopped from going to school, a move that will come at a cost to examination-writing classes.
A resident at Muzarabani Growth Point, Serenena Muzinda said 800 households were getting water from the river which was far from their homes and the business centre.
“Between 700 and 800 households are getting water from the river where animals also drink and it’s far away from our homes and our businesses, about five to six kilometres away resulting in the collapse of our businesses,” said Muzinda.
