Sanitation crises reported in Musina and Bulawayo

Residents in Musina, South Africa, and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, are facing significant public health risks due to persistent sewage overflows and infrastructure failures.

In Musina’s Matswale township, wastewater continues to flow near homes and schools despite a Public Protector finding that the Vhembe District Municipality and Musina Local Municipality failed to maintain infrastructure. The Public Protector previously ruled that the resulting pollution violated residents’ constitutional rights to a healthy environment. Local residents report that the stench forces them to keep windows closed and that mosquito populations have increased due to the standing waste.

In Pelandaba West, Bulawayo, residents report prolonged sewer blockages that have left raw sewage flowing around multiple households. Local leaders expressed concerns that the lack of response from the Bulawayo City Council could trigger a cholera outbreak. A ward councillor noted that the council’s engineering department has cited a shortage of service trucks as a primary reason for the delayed response to these blockages.