The second download included below is the press release
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The audit of management of the sewerage system by urban local authorities under the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing in Zimbabwe was carried out in order to make an independent assessment of how the sewer reticulation system was being managed and also to proffer audit recommendations for improvement, where necessary.
Management of sewage and sewerage system is an important aspect of good hygiene and sanitation of any community and has an influence in the provision of portable water in urban localities. Failure to properly manage sewage and sewerage systems has deadly repercussion. For instance in Zimbabwe over 560 people died from water-borne diseases while 590 753 others contracted the diseases during the period 2013. In addition, poor sanitation is costing Government approximately US$194 million per year, or the equivalent of 1.3% of Zimbabwe’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This translates to an average US$16.4 per capita annually, or US$31.9 per unserved inhabitant. These figures reflect the adverse health effects associated with poor sanitation and water supply such as medical costs of treating Cholera and Typhoid and loss of productivity that results when individuals are sick and others have to care for them.1
Most Urban Local Authorities recharge their surface water sources with treated sewage effluents, thus wastewater effluents are a critical component of the water supply system. The major concern is that most of the sewage effluents can only achieve the yellow band on the Environmental Management Agency (blue, green, yellow and red band) with most of them falling in the red band. Thus, the risk on environment remains very high due to sewage effluents.
