About 50 families in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West province, have converted toilets into dwellings due to lack of accommodation in the town.
Residents of Shackleton, 10 kilometers away from Chinhoyi, said lack of accommodation forced them to live in abandoned toilets despite dangers of contracting contagious diseases.
When Studio 7 visited Shackleton, some families were busy cleaning toilets while others were moving their property into the spruced up ablution facilities.
Mrs. Nomatter Tsomondo, a mother of six who has failed to get proper accommodation in the town due to lack of money, said she is occupying a small toilet which does not offer enough space for her family.
Other toilet occupants, who only wanted to be identified as the Mbirimi family, said they failed to get a residential stand for years and had to resort to such type of accommodation as the council did not offer an alternative place.
Mrs. Tsomondo said she doesn’t care about the dangers of contracting diseases.
Shackleton Ward 15 councilor, Innocent Mangwanya, said there is nothing wrong in allowing residents to convert toilets into residences as they are no longer in use.
But Chinhoyi Mayor, Test Michaels, said the local authority has to investigate the issue before issuing a statement.
According to council meetings dated 15 January 2016, there are about 12,000 people on the housing waiting list.
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Report on Accommodation Blues in Chinhoyi Filed By Arthur Chigoriwa