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Harare – Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai has slammed Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere over his claims that the opposition party was responsible for the typhoid outbreak in Harare.
According to New Zimbabwe, MDC Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora described the local government minister as "a failure" who was also "corrupt".
Mwonzvora said Kasukuwere's accusations were "wild", adding that he was a man of "limited intellect".
Reports indicated that at least nine people had been killed by the typhoid outbreak, while another 2225 cases had been recorded, with 76% of them from the capital Harare.
"It is a type of annoying arrogance that he is displaying. Actually, this has become a hallmark of this government, especially Kasukuwere who is struggling to get his law degree that he is doing very poorly.
"Instead of blaming the MDC-T, this government must concentrate on providing services to the people to avoid problems," Mwonzora was quoted as saying.
Dirty water
Mwonzora's remarks came after the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Kasukuwere as blaming local councillors for the rapid typhoid and cholera outbreaks.
According to the report, Kasukuwere said that the majority of MDC councillors were engaged in corrupt activities instead of focusing on bringing services to the people.
"Quite clearly, we have councillors who are self-centred, who think that they must get per diem than service delivery. They have been keen on allocating themselves stands getting the best piece of land at the expense of service delivery," Kasukuwere was quoted as saying.
A recent News24 report indicated that some ratepayers and consumers in Harare blamed the typhoid outbreak in Harare on the dirty water that they were allegedly drinking.
A cholera epidemic affected much of Zimbabwe from August 2008 until June 2009.
The outbreak began in Harare's satellite town of Chutungwiza and spread to other provinces, resulting in President Robert Mugabe's administration declaring the outbreak a national emergency and requesting international aid.
In total, 98 596 cases of cholera and 4 369 deaths were reported, making it the largest cholera outbreak ever recorded in the southern African country.
