Source: Chitungwiza goes for seven years without functional sewer plant – herald
Remember Deketeke-Municipal Correspondent
THE Chitungwiza Town Council has operated without a functioning sewer treatment plant for more than seven years, a situation that has fuelled frequent sewer bursts, exposed thousands of residents to serious public health risks and led to the discharge of untreated sewage into Hunyani River.
The findings are contained in the Auditor-General’s 2025 Report, which says the municipality has failed to provide an effective sewerage system as required by the Urban Councils Act, with ageing infrastructure continuing to deteriorate due to years of underinvestment.
According to the report, dated December 31, 2023, the municipality’s sewer treatment plant has remained non-functional for more than five years, while deteriorating sewer infrastructure has resulted in repeated sewer bursts in several parts of the town.
“The municipality’s sewer treatment plant has been non-functional for more than five years,” reads the report.
“The deteriorated condition of the sewer infrastructure resulted in frequent sewer bursts that have been occurring in both residential and commercial areas.”
The Auditor-General said the situation contravenes the Urban Councils Act, which requires local authorities to provide, maintain and effectively manage sewerage and sanitation systems. The audit attributes the crisis to years of inadequate capital investment.
“The condition was due to lack of capital investment in sewer system rehabilitation, maintenance and infrastructure upgrading,” reads the report.
Responding to the findings, Chitungwiza Municipality acknowledged the challenges but said rehabilitation works were underway. Management said a contractor was already on site rehabilitating 4,7 kilometres of sewer outfall lines, while council teams were carrying out additional repairs using donated pipe material covering 9,88 kilometres.
“The municipality is rehabilitating a total of 4,7km of sewer outfall lines, with the contractor currently on site.
“In-house interventions are also being undertaken using donated pipe material covering 9,88km,” management said.
Council officials, however, admitted that restoring the sewer treatment plant remains beyond the municipality’s financial capacity. “Municipal council had engaged an investor for a public-private partnership arrangement that did not materialise.
“Due to the magnitude of the project, the council is unable to fund that project and is in the process of looking for a partner to do the project,” management said.
In an interview, Chitungwiza Town Council spokesperson Mr Tafadzwa Kachiko confirmed that the town has now gone for more than seven years without a functioning sewer treatment plant.
“The Zengeza Sewage Treatment Works comprises a conventional treatment plant and a Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) plant. At present, both treatment plants are non-operational,” he said.
He said the municipality was seeking investment partners to rehabilitate both the water supply and sewerage infrastructure.
“The municipality is actively seeking investment partners to support the rehabilitation of both the water supply and sewerage infrastructure. The effective operation of the sewerage system is closely linked to the availability of adequate water supplies, as sufficient water flows are essential for efficient wastewater conveyance and treatment,” he said.
The deteriorating sewer system has also resulted in untreated sewage being discharged into Hunyani River, one of the major tributaries feeding Lake Chivero, Harare’s principal source of raw water.
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