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Zimbabweans should treat every day as a National Environment Cleaning Day, instead of waiting for the first Friday of every month to clean their surroundings, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.

She said this while leading this month’s clean-up campaign at Mbare Musika bus terminus, where she joined Mbare residents drawn from various walks of life.

President Mnangagwa last year, declared the first Friday of every month as the National Environment Cleaning Day.

At yesterday’s event, the First Lady, who is the national environmental patron, and the residents agreed to conduct another clean-up at the bus terminus and in the Mbare residential area in a fortnight.

She swept and cleared heaps of garbage, giving the terminus a newface.

“I encourage all stakeholders to embrace best practices and self-regulation as a cornerstone to a clean, safe and healthy environment,” said the First Lady. “A healthy environment eradicates the spread of diseases like cholera and typhoid.

“I am happy that the transport sector has taken a lead in this month’s clean-up exercise. We are here at Mbare rank because of its significance in connecting towns and cities. Many people pass through this place daily en route to their destinations and because of that, the rank is likely to have a lot of litter.

“Some people are ashamed to be seen sweeping such public places, so I want to thank everyone who came to join me in this cleaning exercise. I am not ashamed of taking part in the exercise. I want this rank to be the cleanest of them all and I will be assisting you for us to achieve our vision.”

The First Lady said as long as the environment remained unclean and contaminated, the outbreak of water-borne diseases would continue to be hazardous to lives.

“With the rainy season that is fast approaching, let us clear all waste dumps and storm drains to prevent clogging,” she said.

“Let’s not expose ourselves to diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

“We will not wait for the designated day to clean our environment, but we should make it a daily routine.”

Amai Mnangagwa, who is also the country’s Health and Child Care ambassador, has always been on the forefront of fighting diseases like cholera and typhoid, by ensuring a culture of cleanliness.

The First Lady said it was everyone’s responsibility to participate in the national clean-up exercise.

She said she was also concerned about rampant littering along the highways.

“I would like to remind public transporters that it is their responsibility to ensure that their passengers do not throw litter out through the windows,” she said. “Let us have waste bins in our public passenger vehicles and empty them at designated  places.

“We should also take time to clean these highways. If they are an eyesore because of litter, this will scare away tourists. To all sectors, I would like to encourage you to continue rolling out best practices in waste management which is a cornerstone towards attaining a clean, safe and healthy environment.”

The First Lady took time to engage some commuter omnibus crews while seated in one of the omnibuses.

She touched on issues to do with cleanliness and proper treatment of commuters.