HARARE - The Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa) is set to refurbish the ladies’ toilets at Rezende Street, as part of their corporate social responsibility programme.
Tafadzwa Simba, Hifa’s head of media and community liaison, said they would commence work at the end of July as they were still processing some paper work with the Harare City Council.
“Hifa is integrally linked to the City of Harare, hence its various
projects over the years related to urban regeneration efforts within its host city. Hifa bequeaths many direct and indirect benefits to audiences and the general public. This is all in line with bringing the City’s standards to level’s that the residents and the country deserve.
“In partnership with the City of Harare we will be refurbishing the ladies’ public toilet on Rezende Street in the capital. It will remain free for use by the public. This is due to the fact that Hifa has observed that there is a severe shortage of public ablution facilities which meet minimum acceptable standards, let alone standards congruent with a world-class city.
“Women have been most acutely affected by this shortage and that also has a bearing on their safety and wellbeing when they seek ablution facilities late at night for instance,” he said.
There have been multiple concerns raised over the state of public toilets in Harare and Hifa has taken it as their mandate to come up with a solution.
“At the end of the refurbishment, the toilet will have facilities that at least begin to match international standards — which standards are what Zimbabweans deserve. The toilet’s extended opening hours, security arrangements and the high levels of cleanliness that will be achieved will inevitably result in jobs being created and supported as well.
“Preparations are now complete and public notices will be published notifying the public of the temporary closure of the toilet to allow for the refurbishment at the end of July 2014,"
"Though Hifa is only a comparatively small organisation with limited resources, it is through the concept of partnership that it will be able to complete this and other projects. We hope this small contribution will also inspire other individuals and organisations to make their contribution to their cities and the nation in regards to our development as a nation. Not only will properly functioning city facilities be of benefit to the Festival audiences, they will also be of benefit to the general public at large. This concept is a hallmark of other projects Hifa has
been and will be engaged in,” he said.