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“I, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe recognising the Constitutional Mandate to uphold environmental fundamental rights and freedoms provided for in the section 73 of the constitution of Zimbabwe the “right to an environment that is not harmful to tier health and well-being”, hereby declare that every first Friday of each calendar month is a National Clean-Up Day.”

December 5, 2018, Takashinga Sports Club Highfield was a day to remember, recorded by scribes of the environment as a day to reckon as the President of Zimbabwe took the lead in declaring and setting aside every first Friday of each month as a National Clean-Up Day, a move that will go a long way in solving the waste management challenge in Zimbabwe.

The National Clean-Up Day  exercise which is in the spirit of creating a clean, safe and healthy environment  states that it is the duty of every individual across the country to clean their surrounding areas be it places of work, education, religion, recreational and residential premises to manage waste management in the country. It shall be undertaken from 0800hrs -1000hrs on the first Friday of each calendar month and every stakeholder is expected to play a pivotal and exemplary role to this commitment

The world is moving towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and Zimbabwe certainly contributes to this vision as shown by the Government led in declaring a National Clean-Up Day. Addressing waste management challenges that have risen and proven to be a thorn in the side worldwide contributes to the achievement of the vision of SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production respectively.

Furthermore, the country is on its way to fulfil its commitments under multilateral environmental agreements that address pollution such as the Stockholm, Basel, Bamako, Rotterdam as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition declaration of the National Clean-Up Day is a step in the right direction in curbing problems arising from waste.

In Zimbabwe loss of life has occurred due to cholera and typhoid the primary cause of this endeavour being waste management thus this day can go a long way.

The Government has chipped in working hand in glove with the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and hospitality Industry and EMA to create a healthy environment as amended by the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

The dictum – “Zimbabwe is open for Business” must be supported by a welcoming, clean, safe and healthy environment to woo investors. This thrust provides an opportunity for reconstruction and transformation of the economy to one which is capable of creating maximum opportunities for people to live a full and dignified life, not only for this generation but also for generations to come.

President Mnangagwa has called upon every individual to equally honour this declaration to work together as a nation protecting the environment.