Ward 4 public toilets in Jahunda Township located in Gwanda District have been reopened for the public after being closed for more than three weeks due to renovations that were taking too long to finish.
The dilapidated toilets that had never been renovated since the time they were built, posed a health crisis; hence the local authorities saw it relevant to close the toilets to pave way for renovations.
The reopening of the toilets came after a group of women from Ward 4 approached and enforced urgency to the ward councillor, Njabulo Siziba and the Gwanda town clerk Priscilla Nkala to re-open the toilets
Speaking with CYDT, a youth who was part of the group, Miss Zanele Nyathi said that residents had suffered enough as a result of the closure of toilets hence the need to approach their local authority on the matter.
“As of June to July, the toilets had been closed, as we had been advised that, they were being renovated. However, the renovations were taking too long and, we therefore approached the councillor to put pressure on him so that the toilets could be reopened. We also approached the town clerk on the same issue. We were a group of 8 women who approached the authorities and from that group, three were youths,” said Miss Nyathi.
Miss Nyathi said that the town clerk wanted the public to be responsible for cleaning the toilets using their own water tokens but they argued against the idea.
“The town clerk advised that ward 4 residents were supposed to clean the toilets themselves. We disputed the idea and argued that we could not clean the toilet, since there was no tap in those toilets and we could not use our own water tokens. There are also members of the public who are not cooperative and will never take part in the cleaning of toilets,” she said.
Miss Nyathi highlighted that, after engaging the town clerk with their grievances, she promised that she would communicate with the engineering department so that the tap would be installed. A happy Miss Nyathi noted that the tap has so far been installed although it is not up to standard, as it was designed in a way that only suits those responsible for cleaning the toilets. She said that the council is currently responsible for cleaning the toilets not the general public.
Miss Nyathi postulated that at time when organisations and feminists are pushing for the inclusion of women and youths in decision making, it is encouraging that youths in Mat South women are making their voices heard by pressuring local leaders on service provision.
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