By Sharon Chimenya
LARGE sections of Masvingo province’s rural population practises open defecation with the Government making efforts to improve water, sanitation and health facilities.
Speaking during a Press conference, the Permanent Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, said 35.1 percent of the population in the province practises open defecation.
Every citizen, he said, should have access to proper sanitary facilities.
“We also have a major challenge pertaining to open defecation. The rate for Masvingo is 35.1 percent as encompassed in the 2022 census report. The mostly affected districts are Chiredzi with around 47 percent and Mwenezi District,” he said.
“Our programming as a province, once boundary partners come in seeking to improve our WASH facilities we are directing them to these specific areas where there is need. We want to close that gap. It is high time every citizen accesses proper toiletry facilities,” he said.
Some people prefer using the bush because of cultural norms, religious beliefs while others do not have resources to construct ablution facilities.
Dr Pazvakavambwa said they had directed local authority to allocate stands to indigenous churches who might want to construct ablution facilities for their members which in turn goes a long way in reducing the challenge of open defecation.
“This has to be tackled at various levels but the statistics admittedly, this is too high and we have to do something because we have to take preventative measures. I have personally challenged local authorities. Some of the religious sects are coming forward applying for permanent stands to put up ablution facilities and we are making deliberate efforts to instruct our local authorities to give preference to these people.”
Ministry of Health and Child Care, Masvingo provincial health administrator, Samson Nyoni, who was representing the Provincial Medical Director, Dr Amadeus Shamhu said they were working to eradicate the challenge through health education programmes.
“This is one of the factors which lead to epidemics like cholera. You find the effluent then flows to our rivers, wells but as Ministry we have done our level best to give health education. We are totally against open defecation and our efforts are towards minimising such through health education and WASH programmes.”
Meanwhile, during the same meeting Dr Pazvakavambwa said at least 27,3 percent households in the province did not have access to safe water and so far the province has sunk 500 boreholes.
“According to the 2022 household census, we have 27,3 percent who do not have access to safe water in the province and with our boundary partners we are working very hard to close that gap and ensure that everyone, in the spirit of leaving no one and no place behind, has access to potable water throughout the province.
“We are doing well, so far over 500 boreholes have been sunk, and over 100 Village Business Units have been completed. These have ensured that people access potable water.”
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