Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
THE Geo Pomona Waste Management facility in Harare is an impressive project which Botswana and the SADC region should emulate, Botswana Assistant Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education Justin Hunyepa said yesterday.
The assistant minister is leading a Botswana delegation attending the ongoing SADC joint meeting of Ministers of Education and Training and Science, Technology and Innovation in Harare.
Yesterday, they took time to tour the waste management facility.
In an interview after the tour, Assistant Minister Hunyepa said such all-encompassing projects were the answer to the region’s waste management and energy issues.
“I am very very much impressed by what your Geo Pomona Waste Management company is doing. From the collection point, the weighing of the waste and up to the processing of used material to the ponds, up to here where there is also a selection of waste. I see this as a very very good project for Botswana, for the SADC region: in fact for Africa as a whole.
“I think we have a great solution with what is going on and another issue that actually impresses me further is the job creation that will come out of this project,” he said.
Mr Hunyepa said he would advise the relevant ministries and mayors of Botswana’s largest cities, Gaborone and Francistown, to come for a benchmarking and familiarisation mission at the Geo Pomona Waste Management facility.
“These are some of the projects that we need to support each other, especially in the region within SADC and Africa as a whole. And I hope other countries will also come here and do the benchmarking.
“So definitely I will be sharing with the different councils about this . . . the mayors of the two biggest cities in Botswana, Francistown and Gaborone, I will definitely engage them because they are colleagues, we always talk.
“In fact I will request them to come and do the benchmarking here . . . the respective ministries as well, I will ensure that I engage them and they should come here and appreciate for themselves. So it is quite a great opportunity for Botswana.”
Botswana Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mrs Sarah Molosiwa said the waste management firm had set the pace for the region in terms of effective waste management.
“Such a project like that is an eye-opener for us as a country that our City Council in Gaborone and the City Council in Francistown maybe those could be a phase one of developing an initiative like this.
“That is going to generate income provide jobs also . . . so we are, I believe, as the minister has already confirmed that we still have some homework and we have a long way to go with ourselves,” she said.
“Let me take this opportunity to appreciate the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe for such a big project, quite a number of my principals and former ones have been here.”
On his part, Geo Pomona executive chairman and chief executive officer Dr Dilesh Nguwaya said the waste management firm remained open to collaborating with Botswana.
Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet Engineer Amos Marawa and Dr Nguwaya last year led a delegation to Botswana to get an appreciation of the waste management situation at the invitation of the Botswana Government.
“I am very pleased that the Assistant Minister came from Botswana to see what we are doing here at Geo Pomona so our collaboration will continue with the Government of Botswana to manage waste there.
“We will continue engaging each other until we finalise our agreements,” Dr Nguwaya said.
Peter Tanyanyiwa