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Mashonaland West Bureau
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) is concerned by Kadoma Municipality’s failure to manage its solid waste and garbage collection system. Residents, most of who claim that council is only collecting garbage from the central business district, are now reportedly stashing refuse in their backyards.

Some areas in the city have not been serviced with garbage collection for more than two years. Three of the municipality’s refuse trucks are undergoing repairs. Last week, Sanyati district environmental officer Mr Knowledge Kabesa said EMA conducted a clean-up campaign with other stakeholders to deal with the garbage, while raising awareness on cholera.

“We had a clean-up campaign at Waverly Bus Terminal and railway station in Kadoma, where we had various stakeholders participating, with attendance of more than 100 people,” he said.

“The clean-up was targeted towards Waverly Bus Terminus, which is a litter hotspot in the city. This gesture was meant to eradicate possible breeding conditions for cholera. It is important to note that our stakeholders are taking environment issues seriously since this clean-up was initiated by the Grain Marketing Board.”

Mr Kabesa said refuse collection had since improved in some parts of the city.

“Waste management has been a challenge of late because of breakdowns of council trucks,” he said. “We are now seeing them a bit more frequent now, showing some improvements, although not to the required standard.”

Kadoma City health and environmental services director Mr Daniel Chirundu said two of the council’s refuse trucks were back on the road, but they were still awaiting delivery of a new one.

“The new truck is yet to be delivered and we are waiting for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) allocation, but so far two of our trucks are on the road,” he said.

EMA education and publicity officer for Mashonaland West province Mr Munyaradzi Nhariswa said urbanisation had increased the rate of solid waste in the province.

“Rapid urbanisation leading to high population densities, sprouting illegal settlements, expansion of residential and industrial areas, as well as changing consumption patterns have led to a dramatic increase in solid waste generation,” he said.

Mr Nhariswa urged residents to use re-usable bags or baskets for shopping to reduce littering the city with plastic bags.