RIGHTS lawyers have said they are engaging experts to determine the contamination levels of water Harare is providing to residents before taking legal action against the local authority.
Harare City Council recently admitted that it was providing unsafe water to residents. Council director Christopher Zvobgo said Lake Chivero, the source of Harare’s water, was filthy due to pollution.
The local authority had been denying that its water was contaminated with human waste which finds its way into Lake Chivero through burst sewerage pipes which are a constant feature across the city.
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com, an attorney with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), David Hofisi, said they were collecting evidence before suing the local authority.
“This is a case we are working on and we want to gather as much evidence as we can so that we challenge the local authorities with concrete evidence,” he said.
Hofisi said they are looking for independent water engineers after realising that using state-aligned water scientists from the University of Zimbabwe was going to compromise their argument.
“We have been forced to look for private water experts because of the relationship of the state and the local universities.
“We feel those (experts) we would have engaged might not be willing to stand before the courts of law and give evidence which is against government which happens to be their employer,” Hofisi added.
Last year, a group of women petitioned the Harare city council over the poor quality of water which they said was endangering their reproductive systems.
The petitioners feared they might contract cancer from the “rusty” water which the local authority often provides.
Source-newzimbabwe
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