SOUTHERN PROVINCE HUYE — A mini- survey conducted by The New Times in Huye town indicates that a health crisis is looming if district authorities do not move in to address that situation. The town that has over 70 000 people does not have a single public toilet facility that is operational. What seems to have been a public toilet near the district headquarters is in utter neglect and is not operational. Aimable Biziwumuremye is a vendor in the town; he says that easing oneself in the town is increasingly becoming difficult because most of the bushes have been cleared. “We used to use the bushes for short calls but as you can see now they have all been cut to pave way for construction. The only remaining places are Hotels and restaurants but the owners are justifiably hostile to us,” says Biziwumuremye.Anatole Karangwa, a motorist who plies the Taba route says that the only public toilet that existed in town is no longer in use because of neglect from district authorities. “This is indeed a big problem. Some of us have been forced to rush home just to use facilities there. This stalls our work unnecessarily. The district should construct toilets which we can use at a fee,” advises Karangwa. The Mayor of Huye district Aimable Twagiramutara acknowledges that the problem of proper sanitation in the town is real. “We are aware of this problem and as district authorities we have not sat back. We have already given out tenders for the construction of public toilets in the town and the construction of dustbins that will spread all over the town,” says Twagiramutara. According to bid documents seen by The New Times, construction of the same is expected to start in September.According to Charles Karangwa, a district official in charge of Lands, planning and Infrastructure, the district is also looking at a constructing a public waste disposal plant. “We have made this a priority in our five year development plan because waste disposal is still done haphazardly. This leads to environmental degradation,” he says. Karangwa says that the district lacks a cesspool truck to empty toilets that have been filled up since there is no central waste treatment plant in the district. “Emptying filled up toilets especially at public places like the markets is done manually. We realise the danger this poses to people who do it but it’s the only way since such truck services can only be found in the capital Kigali,” says Karangwa.Ends
