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Marytise  Vambayi Herald Reporter

Harare City Council has been battling to collect refuse over the past few weeks, with residents lucky to get collections once a month, and this is seeing more illegal dumpsites that are now posing a serious health and environmental hazard.

The catchpits for the underground storm water drains in the city centre and some inner suburbs are clogged with garbage, despite recent efforts to clear them, and the surface drains in most suburbs have been blocked by homeowners refusing to follow by-laws and keep them clear. With rains expected to start to soon, flooding is expected in the capital.

In high and medium density suburbs including Mufakose, Tafara, Mabvuku, Kuwadzana, Warren Park and Hatfield, The Herald noted an increase in dumpsites, as residents complain over council’s inconsistency in garbage collection.

In Mufakose around the Magandanga area and along Donhodzo Road on the way to Budiriro suburb, huge heaps of garbage could be seen. Mufakose residents have created a dumpsite along the railway line.

In Dzivarasekwa, residents said they had not seen council refuse trucks for weeks now. 

A resident, Mrs Sekai Mushawati, said: “Council is not collecting refuse, forcing us to dispose of garbage in bushy areas at night while others are dumping it in the middle of roads. This is how we are surviving for now.”

Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme yesterday blamed the intermittent and poor refuse collection on mechanical faults on council refuse trucks.

“We always collect garbage, but at times we face challenges with our old garbage trucks which constantly break down,” he said.

Along Parirenyatwa Street in Dzivaresekwa, a huge heap of garbage forms regularly and in most cases, covers the entire road, said residents.

A Kuwadzana Extension resident Mrs Petronella Kavhu said it was disheartening to note that council had abandoned its refuse collection schedule a long time ago. 

 “They just come when they want. Unfortunately, if you didn’t not expect them and your garbage was inside the yard, it would be left and eventually we just dump it anywhere away from our homes.

“In some case we dispose of our refuse in rivers so that when rains come, it is swept away and flies don’t feed there and come back to our home fields,” said Mrs Kavhu

Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme yesterday blamed the intermittent and poor refuse collection on mechanical faults on council refuse trucks.

“We always collect garbage but at times we face challenges with our old garbage trucks which constantly break down,” he said.

Council continues to battle to collect refuse mainly due to incompetence by MDC councillors, whose main brief has been to engage in corruption.

A number of councillors and executives in the City of Harare have been arrested in the past few months on allegations of corruption.

Their cases are at various stages of conclusion.