The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Monday, November 9, 1992 — Rains finally came to thirsty Bulawayo, but with a twist of irony.

While most residents have welcomed the rains, Killarney squatters have complained they now have to sleep in the mud as a result of the rains. This is because the materials used to build their shacks are substandard and let in water.

One of the squatters, Mrs Esther Moyo, said they like other Zimbabweans were happy that it was raining this year but the rains were keeping them awake at night.

“We are very grateful that it is raining because we also plough our small fields here, but we don’t have decent accommodation,” she said.

“Sometimes we have to place buckets and bowls where there are leaks and empty them whenever they get full. Now we are worried that our children may catch colds,” said Mrs Moyo.

Another squatter, Mr Siton Moyo, said his roof was not leaking and that the ones whose roofs leaked usually belonged to single mothers who had no men in their households to put up proper roofs for them.

“One thing that discourages us from putting up decent roofs is the fact that we live under threats of being moved”, he said.

Most of the squatters at Killarney said they had no permanent solution to the problem because they always anticipated being moved to decent accommodation.

The situation at the camp is said to be so bad that some families are having to share a single room.