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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Raw sewage is flowing freely in some streets of Zimbabwe's capital, posing a deadly challenge to the newly elected president who promised a new dawn to the troubled country.
A cholera outbreak has killed more than 30 people and made more than 7,000 sufferers beyond Harare, creating the latest crisis for a government that promises to turn a collapsed economy into a middle class by 2030.
The signs are not encouraging. Inflation has climbed. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took office after the fall of long-time leader Robert Mugabe and raised hopes for some time, is now spending his time fighting a "medieval" disease.
As many people in Harare jump over the puddles, they are reminded of the epidemic that killed more than 4,000 people ten years ago. Now, water and sanitation are far worse than before.
As the epidemic spreads beyond Harare, Zimbabweans see it as the first big test of the new government after a hard-fought election.
"It is by the grace of God that we have not yet been infected," said Elizabeth Limamu, 66, at the Associated Press. She traced a stone path from the street to her house to avoid entering the sewers that have accumulated beside her yard. The children, some barefoot, play next door.
"I lock my children in. This is not safe here," said Tinotenda Kwitsa, a neighbor.
While some in Harare dig trenches to divert the flow, others can not avoid the sewage that has entered homes. Noisy schoolchildren in uniform invade the streets, apparently unaware of the risky conditions.
In the suburb of Budiriro, a resident laughed at radio ads, advising people to wash their hands with running water.
"These faucets have been dry for months, when it comes in, the water has a brown color and it smells," said Norman Marambe. Some residents resorted to drilling wells or digging shallow wells and then locking them.
"Thieves steal water and taps if we do not close the taps," said 61-year-old Annatolia Chivanga.
The government, which is in financial trouble, has made a $ 57 million appeal in a backlash. Some local nongovernmental organizations hold the government accountable for deaths from cholera.
"It is alarming and quite unusual that such a medieval and preventable disease can continue to claim such precious lives in our time," said the Coordinating Committee of Civil Society Health Emergency Response.
A crowdfunding initiative launched by the new finance minister, Mthuli Ncube, has angered the public. Some have wondered why a government that seized new cars and private jets should ask poor citizens to participate.
On Wednesday, the minister said the government has suspended car purchases for ministers and lawmakers to focus on the epidemic. In addition, the president, who had previously hired private planes for overseas travel, took Zimbabwe's national carrier to the United States' annual meeting of world leaders.
Early intervention by donors and the government could help Zimbabwe avoid a repeat of the 2008 disaster, but agree that risks remain if long-term measures are not taken to replace aging infrastructure and satisfy a growing urban population .
Corruption, another challenge, flourished in the midst of the crisis.
Harare City Council announced that it had suspended several officials after telecommunications billionaire Strive Masiyiwa wrote on Facebook that officials had inflated prices after his company gave $ 10 million to buy drugs and other equipment. health.
"Gloves worth 3 dollars were suddenly worth $ 65," Masiyiwa said.
In his first speech on the state of the nation since the election, Mr. Mnangagwa is engaged this week to tackle the corruption that has dug this once prosperous country.
Other crises that his administration is facing accumulate like garbage in the streets of Harare.
With factories resembling scrapyards, Zimbabwe has to import most basic items. Currency shortages have led to a booming black market where exchange rates are skyrocketing. Prices of basic items such as bread are climbing. The long lines of waiting in the banks remain.
The widespread unemployment forced some to ignore the cholera warnings. For days, the police fought to free the streets of Harare from thousands of jostling vendors, saying it would help reduce the spread of the disease.
Some are now playing cat and mouse with the police, suspicious of arrests and confiscations. Others decided to sell the night to avoid raids.
"They want to save me from cholera, but what about my hunger?" asked a seller, Yemurai Chimuka. "My family can not survive if I do not come to the street, there is no work there, but the prices go up."
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