By Staff Reporter | The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has hammered the ministers of Health and Child Care and Local Government, David Parirenyatwa and, Saviour Kasukuwere for failing to foresee and counter the outbreak of typhoid that has hit the country.

Over 200 cases of typhoid and three deaths have been recorded in Harare since the outbreak of the epidemic three months ago.

The outbreak of the pandemic was caused by poor hygienic conditions a result of un-repaired burst sewer pipes and uncollected garbage which continue to characterize the once sun shine city.

Stakeholders in the health sector say water borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, should not continue to occur in a modern society like Zimbabwe and blamed the government for their continued recurrence.

ZLHR, senior official Dzimbabwe Chimbga ,told a stakeholders meeting in Harare this week , that the two ministers and other related government heads of departments ,should be ashamed of the recurrence of “this archaic” epidemic and do the honorable thing.

“The law and the constitution are clear on such issues, they tell you that mitigate and put preventative measures to such outbreaks which should not be seen erupting in this day and age,” he said.

“In a problem of this nature there are a number of actors who are involved and all of them must be held accountable, and because of limited time I have here presenting, I cannot exhaust the list but what we need is to see accountability on the local authority, accountability on the ministry of health, the environmental management agency and the ministry responsible for the allocation of land for housing stands,” said Chimbga.

Chimbga said the Human Rights Commission which was present at the meeting should identify various stakeholders involved in causing the typhoid outbreak and hold them accountable.

“This must be done so that we avoid unwarranted deaths of innocent citizens to diseases which could be prevented,” Chimbga said.