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GWANDA (The Citizen Bulletin) — For Jane Dube*, a 37-year-old mother of four, life at Vubachikwe Mine in Gwanda has become unbearable as a broken sewer line spews waste across her property, flooding her home with raw sewage and raising fears of a looming health crisis.
Dube helplessly watches as sewage floods her house, situated on a slope, leaving her worried about her family’s safety.
“When the sewer bursts in my absence, l find my children walking and playing on the waste.”
Jane Dube*, a concerned mother of four
Mine worker and resident Bongani Sibanda* shares a similar experience, noting that sewage spills into their outdoor cooking areas, significantly increasing their risk of contracting cholera.
“How can we not die of cholera in this situation?” Sibanda asks. “There’s no way to survive.”
Dube, just like dozens of residents at Vubachikwe mine, has been running her household without water supply for the past four months.
Due to water shortages, Dube uses leftover water from bathing to flush her toilet, exacerbating the sewer leakage.
“I think these sewer systems only function properly when there’s enough water,” Dube explains.
Moses Ncube*, 31, a mine employee and resident, says people have abandoned public toilets in favor of the bush. The facilities, he explains, are filthy and reek so badly that the stench can be smelled from afar.
“People are now choosing the bush; it’s a better option, even though we know it could lead to an outbreak of diseases.”
Moses Ncube*
In November 2022, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) suspended water supply to Vubachikwe Mine for two weeks due to unpaid debts, following a shutdown of operations amid a violent dispute with workers. While ZINWA eventually restored the supply, mine management cites a shortage of pipes as a reason for directing water only to storage tanks.
Consequently, residents are forced to travel between 100 to 600 meters to fetch water from three available tanks, depending on their location.
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A mine spokesperson confirmed the sewer bursts and water supply cuts but attributed the problems to workers who participated in an illegal strike that damaged essential machinery, including electricity transformers and water pipes.
Editor’s note: Names marked with an asterisk (*) have been changed to protect the identities of sources.