Manicaland has so far recorded 4 cholera deaths.

Three of the four people who died are from Buhera and one is from Makoni district.

The province has recorded 170 suspected cases of cholera and 17 cases have been confirmed.

All the cases are suspected to have been caused by people who recently visited areas in Harare where the epidemic started.

Speaking during a Manicaland Provincial Development Committee meeting held in Mutare, Manicaland Provincial Administrator Mr Edgar Seenza raised concern over the alarming rate of the increased cholera cases in the province.

“Cholera cases are on the rise in the province with Buhera recording the highest number of cases. We are trying to make sure that cholera does not spread throughout the province. We have banned all public gatherings and we are urging people to practice good hygiene. We also want council to provide safe drinking water to places that do not have access to clean water. We also call upon our development partners to assist with safe drinking water,” said Mr Seenza.

Mr Seenza also raised concern over the high numbers of school drop outs in the province indicating that Manicaland has the highest number of school drop outs and highlighted that it was due to mostly early child marriages amongst other factors like poverty.

He also implored for stiffer penalties to perpetrators of environmental degradation after pointing out the increased cases of veld fires in the province.

“We cannot continue complaining about veld fires without acting on it. Drastic measures should be put in place to deter people from committing the same offences,” Mr Seenza added.

The provincial development meeting was aimed at reviewing the progress that different stakeholders in the province have made during the 2018 3rd quarter.

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