Bulawayo unites to a robust August clean-up campaign

BULAWAYO residents, churches, officials and employees of Government departments, Bulawayo Fire Brigade and private companies as well as pupils from several local schools came together in large numbers yesterday, united by a single objective of cleaning the city as part of the August National Clean-Up Campaign.

The monthly national clean-up campaign, launched by President Mnangagwa in December 2018, seeks to promote environmental sustainability, improve public health and encourage communities to take collective responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean.

The city centre was a hive of activity from as early as 7AM with cleaning teams sweeping the streets and picking up litter at the City Hall parking area, the Bulawayo Public Library, Unity Village, along Sixth Avenue, the Centenary Park and in several places in Mpopoma suburb, as well as other spots in Bulawayo.

At the City Hall parking area, a group consisting of pupils from a number of local colleges, fire fighters from the Bulawayo Fire Brigade, church members from several denominations and employees of a local cleaning company converged to clean the area.

Ms Nyarie Shoko, who was leading her team from a local cleaning company that volunteered their time for the noble cause, said focus should now be on anti-littering campaigns that deal with the root causes of littering in the city.

“The residents of Bulawayo together with companies, schoolchildren and churches must be commended for fully embracing the clean-up campaigns that help keep our city clean,” she said. “However, we must now focus on the root causes of littering, which is the unpleasant culture of throwing away litter.

“We can simple do the right thing by disposing paper, plastic bottles and left over food in bins. Anti-littering starts with us by just ensuring that we hold onto our litter for a couple of metres until we find a bin, which by the way is found in every street corner in the city centre,” said Ms Shoko.

“As a company we decided to also join the National Clean-Up Campaign as a way of thanking the residents of Bulawayo who support our business ,” she said.

At the Sixth Avenue illegal taxi rank, teams of cleaners filled refuse bags with litter ranging from banana peels, fast food take away containers, plastic bottles and paper strewn around the area despite the presence of bins installed by the Bulawayo City Council and its partners in the private sector.

“It’s embarrassing that other people have to come and pick up some of the mess that we are responsible for throwing around when we are the same vendors that operate here.

“People cannot keep hiding behind the lies that Bulawayo does not have enough refuse bins because we have them in every corner but we just choose to throw away litter everywhere,” said a fruit vendor Mr Clifton Nyathi.

At the TM Hyper taxi rank where the city’s second largest public transport association Tshova Mubaiwa operates from, rank overseer Mr Elisha Taurai said littering in the area is an offence that attracts a fine.

“All our kombis have a litter bag where passengers can throw in their litter and our kombi crews are fined when caught littering. The clean-up campaign is a good idea that reminds all of us to keep the city clean,” said Mr Taurai.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) said this month’s National Clean-Up Day is running under the theme: “Green Travelling and Eco-Friendly Gatherings: Honouring Our Heroes and Defence Forces in a Clean Environment.”

“As the nation commemorates Heroes’ Day and Defence Forces Day, increased travel to Heroes’ shrines and other public and family gatherings is expected. EMA urges citizens to dispose of waste responsibly, keep transport routes and commemorative venues litter-free, and adopt environmentally friendly practices to minimise pollution and environmental degradation.

“Public transport operators are encouraged to provide litter bins in their vehicles to discourage littering along highways. Transporters are reminded that failure to provide bins in a public conveyance vehicle is an offence, and so is littering by the public as enshrined in Section 83 of the Environmental Management Act [Chapter 20:27], as read with Section 23 of Statutory Instrument 6 of 2007,” said EMA.

The agency said proper waste disposal also help prevent road traffic accidents associated with obstruction from flying waste materials, as well as roadside veld fires caused by carelessly discarded burning materials.

“EMA will continue to conduct environmental awareness campaigns and mobile environmental education programmes, as well as encourage community clean-up activities across the country to promote environmental stewardship.

“A clean environment is a fitting tribute to Zimbabwe’s Heroes and Heroines and the Defence Forces. Let us all honour their legacy by keeping our communities and the nation clean,” it said.