THE Harare City Council (HCC) has come up with a US$4 million waste management budget that will see it procuring 45 refuse compactors in the next three months, a senior official has said.
The local authority is facing a waste management crisis with mountains of uncollected garbage strewn all over its environs, while streams of effluent from blocked sewerage reticulation systems are equally commonplace, spawning constant outbreaks of water-borne diseases that include cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea.
HCC director of Urban Planning, Samuel Nyabezi told a full council meeting recently that two refuse compactors are ready for collection, while another four will be ready for collection in a month’s time.
Nyabezi, however, did not give a breakdown of how the number of refuse compactors would eventually get to 45 with councillors expressing skepticism that the local authority will be able to achieve the feat.
The councillors highlighted the council’s struggles to provide adequate refuse collection services despite having a considerable budget, making life difficult for them as they face heavy criticism from ratepayers and residents who have to contend with the stench of uncollected refuse, streams of sewage and the accompanying swarms of flies threatening their health.
Several councillors suggested that part of the US$4 million budget be directed towards the repair of existing refuse compactors, many of which require minor repairs. Mayor Jacob Mafume, said in addition to the planned investments in waste management, the local authority has also requested the ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development for more dump sites.
He said the Pomona Dumpsite is too far from some parts of the city such as Harare South, making it economically unviable for refuse collection trucks to be driven across the city.
The council then agreed to establish additional landfill sites closer to the city’s various residential and commercial areas to improve the overall efficiency of the waste management system. Mafume urged the directors to work harder to achieve the goals and requested councilors to brief residents in their wards of the efforts and encourage them to continue paying their bills to assist in financing the hire of private compact trucks being used, until the council compactors become available.
“There is need for waste collection in all parts of the city every week. Directors should speed up the process and provide these compactors in every district as soon as possible,” said Mafume. “We do not want a situation where people would start thinking the council is not working hard enough,” he said. –New Ziana
