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Runesu Gwidi Herald Correspondent
Masvingo City Council is finalising a 25-year lease with the Cold Storage Company (CSC) for 10 hectares of land that will pave way for commissioning of the city’s new dumpsite. The development comes as council had been hounded over the main dumpsite that residents said was posing a health risk to residents in the new Victoria Ranch suburb.

Town Clerk Mr Adolph Gusha said all was set for the city to commission a new dumpsite on a farm owned by CSC.
“We are finalising our draft lease agreement with CSC to acquire 10 hectares of land for the commissioning a new dumpsite,” he said.

“It is our hope that relocation to a new site will put to an end general outcry over the nearness of the old dumpsite to some houses in the city,” he said.

Mr Gusha said no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted for the current dumpsite since the Environmental Management Agency Act had not yet been promulgated and enacted when it was commissioned.

“Initially, the old dumpsite had no EIA and we have since applied to EMA for a waiver of an EIA for the new site so that we use the one we eventually got for the old site since we will lease land from CSC under the same conditions.”

The city’s chief environmental health officer Mr Zvapano Munganasa confirmed that the drafting of a new lease agreement with CSC for a new dumpsite was nearing completion.

“The commissioning of the new dumpsite will be done any time soon,” he said.
EMA Masvingo regional manager Mr Milton Muusha said council applied for a waiver of an EIA for its planned new dumpsite.

“We are yet to respond to their application (for an EIA). Since the conditions of application are the same, I see it feasible for them to use the same EIA for the new site at CSC,” Mr Muusha said.