The Sunday Mail
A lorry and dozens of smaller vehicles conspired to spoil the party for a vivacious young lady who had poured her curves into a trendy white floral dress as she flagged down lifts at a bus stop in Budiriro, Harare, last weekend.
One by one, the passing vehicles splattered a mixture of mud and dirty water on the chocolate-skinned lady, forcing her to return home for a change of clothes.
A buxom woman, who was also seeking transport, was not spared.
Worst affected was a cyclist, who was forced into a ditch by the passing vehicles, resulting in him gulping copious amounts of the water, which is known to wash away ever-flowing sewage in the populous suburb.
Sad as it is, such are the happenings in most parts of the city, where incessant rains have left pools of dirty water on potholed road surfaces.
So intense have been the downpours that they have left big challenges for road users because the clogged storm water drains are failing to cope with the situation.
While the rains have brought relief to farmers, they have caused pain and agony to many other people, who are now wishing them away.
The times we are living in are particularly difficult for everyone, including motorists.
Motorists are bearing high costs to keep their vehicles on the roads, with tyres requiring regular mending, maintenance or replacement.
The suspension system of vehicles is also compromised by the poor state of the roads, where one has to be extra careful to avoid landing in a ditch or driving into a rock.
Wipers, too, need to be regularly checked as it is very critical to have them in good working order during this time of the year.
Those in the habit of bed-wetting are in trouble, too.
At times, the moment they spread their blankets for drying in the sun, it starts raining.
Wardrobe management is also difficult this time because laundry is not drying fast enough and this sometimes forces some people to go for a week without a change of clothes.
“Vhat mahwani. Dai yaingonaya kumarunyaz nekuminda chete, kwete tonaz, because yatikonzeresa imwe iyaiya,” yours truly heard some yobs saying in slang, wishing the rains only fell in rural areas and fields and not in urban areas.
“The season is looking really good for the farmer, not us, as we have to contend with digging trenches to make water flow out of our yards.
“It’s worse at night because one may slip and fall into muddy waters as a result of limited or outright poor visibility,” one journalist told this writer.
It is worse for people who build their homes in wetlands.
As I commit pen to paper, gentle reader, people living in wetlands are bearing the brunt of the challenges spawned by incessant rains.
Day in, day out, they have to contend with scooping water out of their homes.
Some of them have to use bricks and other means to raise the level of their beds so that they do not end up sleeping in water.
The water has become a great challenge to those who use pit latrines, where the level of effluent has also risen and, in some cases, it is flowing into their source of drinking water.
But gentle reader, there is surely a way out of the current situation.
Following set standards and following instructions prescribed by engineers and other experts is surely the way to go.
Inotambika mughetto.
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