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Victor Maphosa Herald Reporter
“The world we live in is deteriorating rapidly due to the dire consequences of climate change which manifest as floods, heat waves, diseases, water and air pollution, land degradation and desertification, among other challenges.”

The above remarks were made by President Mnangagwa on December 5, 2018 when he declared the first Friday of each calendar month as the National Environment Cleaning

Day, as his Government moved to ensure the country has a sustainable environment management and waste disposal system.

He made the declaration as he officially launched the National Clean-up Campaign in Harare and signed a declaration to this effect.

“These developments require us to take bold and decisive action with regards to the management of our environment, of ensuring a clean environment. We need to keep our villages, towns and cities clean and hygienic, both for this generation and generations to come.

“We must, therefore, be reoriented to practise good environmental and waste management through increased advocacy, education, training and awareness. We must do this from a place of pride, not just a necessity.”

Leading from the front and by example, he often dons a worksuit as he joins people sweeping and collecting litter at various locations in the country.

His call has been embraced positively by all progressive citizens, with many seeing the benefits of a cleaner environment.

It is heartening that most Zimbabweans are now increasingly developing a culture of cleaning the environment, making it part of their daily lives.
The Environmental Management Agency says more institutions and organisations have embraced the call joining the nation to promote sustainable environmental practices.

In January this year, more than 73 stakeholders responded and participated in the national clean-up exercise, according to EMA.
Ever since the President launched the clean-up programme, schools, companies, institutions and universities have all ratcheted up clean-up exercises in various parts of the country.

In many ways, the President’s clean-up campaign has fostered a spirit of oneness, patriotism and love of the environment.
The seed planted by the President is yielding good fruits as more people make cleaning up the environment part of their life.
The call has also stirred that spirit of belonging and unity and to date, 786 stakeholders have participated in the exercise.

EMA says more than 20 000 clean-ups have been carried out across the country since the Presidential declaration, a major milestone for the country in terms of attaining its Sustainable Development Goals on environment.
Global environmental assessments reports indicate that the planet is increasingly getting polluted, rapidly warming and quickly losing its biodiversity, something that is deeply worrying.

The deep concern has prompted Zimbabwe to quickly play a role in cleaning the environment and make it a better place to live.
It is important at this juncture to know how much waste our beautiful nation is generating, and how far have we gone in cleaning the very environment we have been polluting.

It is alarming to note that Zimbabwe alone generates around 1,65 million tonnes of solid waste annually and it is projected that by 2030, waste generated annually would surpass 5 million tonnes, according to EMA.
“Human nature and in general behaviour has, among other things, been singled out as a major cause of poor solid waste management, hence the need to tap into education and awareness for the change in the mindset,” EMA says.

“The National Clean-up Launch remains one of the greatest milestone achievements in Zimbabwean history on waste management issues.
“Over 20 000 clean-ups have been carried out across the country ever since the launch of the programme. To date, the National Clean-up Programme has registered participation of 786 stakeholders from as low as 73 in January 2019, among them, but not limited to, the corporate sector, religious fraternity, Government institutions, parastatals and foreign nationals resident in the country.”

Running under the banner “Independence Clean- up Special”, the April National Clean-up Day collected 32 000 metric tonnes of waste up from just 9 000 metric tonnes in March this year.

All this presents solid evidence of a positive response to the Presidential call to clean up the environment.

Cleaning up the environment is everyone’s responsibility.
It is, therefore, imperative for local authorities to collect waste as per their waste collection schedules, dump waste in appropriate areas and draw up and implement plans guided by local and international principles of environmental waste management.
This trajectory will help prevent the unsafe disposal of waste, especially in urban set-ups.

Urging all citizens to embrace the clean-up programme from household level, then out to institutional level is of great importance — after all, “charity begins at home”.
It will pay if prosecution of those who deliberately continue littering and dumping waste at undesignated places is emphasised, practised and consistently reviewed.

As the nation nears another first Friday of the coming month, it is clear that waste collected in April will be surpassed.

It is important to keep on supporting the President’s call as this is the best initiative to make the environment a better place for all.
President Mnangagwa has been a leading light in the clean-up campaign and the nation must rally behind him to help the country meet its SDG targets on the environment.

His works must be lauded and embraced as widely as possible.