World affairs

In a bid to clear their city’s blocked sewers, authorities in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, have a novel idea.

We don’t know if Dynorod have any branches in Zimbabwe but based on this story coming out of the country, it doesn’t sound like they do. The second-largest city in the country, Bulawayo, has a problem with its sewers. They’re blocked and thanks to water rationing in the city, waste has built up in the pipes.

But the lads in charge have come up with a brilliant idea to clear the blockage. They have asked everybody in the city to flush their loo at exactly 7.30pm on Monday. With almost 1 million people expected to take part, that’s a lot of water entering the system at once.

And the plan is to do this every Monday, at 7.30pm, to keep the pipes clear.

The city's mayor, Thaba Moyo, tells Yahoo a bit more about it.

"We are going to have a big flush every Monday to push all the waste that would have accumulated during the water rationing. It means everybody has to flush their toilet at the stipulated time which will be 7.30pm.

"This is done to prevent any sewer blockages as we anticipate longer periods without water in the sewer system."

"It's a national problem. Most cities are having water shortages, and we are hoping that the supplies will last until the rainy season and pray that we have good rains."