adminVusumuzi Dube Municipal Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council officials have been sucked into a bitter war at Richmond Dumpsite popularly known as Ngozi Mine amid allegations that they have their “own people” whom they allow to rummage, leading to regular fights for the rights to the area. It is alleged that the chaos that has erupted at the site has seen some of the scavengers, who were given the right to operate at the site by the local authority, now clashing with those who were illegally scavenging but instead being allowed to scavenge after paying security personnel present at the site.
According to scavengers at the site, some of the individuals were now considered as “chiefs” and they had the responsibility of liaising between the municipal police officers and the scavengers.
“A lot of crime happens here and goes unreported because the chiefs intimidate fellow scavengers. If you threaten to report whatever matter, instant justice is administered.
“What happens is that most people who scavenge here are illegally doing it as they were not approved by the council. Therefore, we end up paying the chiefs and police for protection,” said one of the scavengers who only identified himself as Mr Ndlovu.
Another scavenger claimed that while they were interested in legalising their activities, it was difficult for them because most of them were illiterate and could not meet the stringent requirements demanded by the local authority.
“My friend I have been doing this for over ten years, this has become a way of life for me and my family. Due to the fact that most of us are not considered as legal you find there is always a war between those regarded as legal and us, the main bone of contention being territory.
“You also find that these chiefs exhibit great amounts of power here that they can do as they please. Even the police can’t control them. To be frank, this place is chaotic and our plea is that the council implements some control mechanisms to help reduce this,” said the scavenger who refused to be named.
Most of the scavengers stay at the Ngozi Mine squatter camp that is located at the dumpsite.
When a Sunday News crew visited the site last Wednesday, it was denied entry with the municipal police present at the site saying they needed special clearance from the council to gain entry.
A council official who preferred anonymity confirmed that the local authority was having a hard time dealing with scavengers at the site and were in the process of engaging various stakeholders to find a solution to the matter.
“As one of the ways to address the issue, council tried rotating security personnel there so that one does not relax and feel they can do as they will but it is unfortunate that we hear these reports still coming out,” said the official.
Efforts to get comment from the local authority’s senior public relations officer, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, were fruitless as her mobile phone was not reachable. However, the city’s mayor, Councillor Martin Moyo said he was aware of the problems being faced at the dumpsite and they were working on availing them with decent accommodation, so as to reduce these problems.
“We know of the problems there which have thus led us to avail a scheme where at least we will provide those people with some decent accommodation.
“We have tried to resettle some, I can tell you a few are left and we will continue to ensure that we relocate them and make sure that they get proper living places,” Clr Moyo said.
Early this year the local authority lost $2 062 to a senior clerical assistant based at the landfill site, identified as Mr M Mathuthu. The senior clerical assistant was tasked with collecting money from companies who came to dump their waste at the site. Council, however, noted that the figure could be more as there were some receipt books that were missing with security personnel at the site acknowledging that they did not have a hands on approach to the running of the site.
The scam was unearthed when the council replaced Mr Mathuthu with a new clerical assistant to take over the collection.
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