Online Reporter
Drive down the Old Gwanda Road today, and you will witness a crime scene in broad daylight. A 3-kilometre stretch, a gateway to a Royal Palace no less, has been brazenly transformed into an illegal wasteland.
Mountains of concrete, bricks, plastic, and sand line the route, a silent testament to a systemic failure of enforcement and a blatant disregard for public and environmental health.
This is not the work of a few careless individuals tossing plastic bottles. This is a calculated, industrial-scale operation by rogue construction companies who have made a simple cost-benefit analysis: it is cheaper to defile our city than to do the right thing. And who can blame them, when the current system all but encourages it?
Bulawayo mayor David Coltart has rightly expressed his outrage, pinpointing the core of the problem: the city’s fines are not a deterrent; they are a discount.
His proposal to increase penalties to a minimum of US$300 for vehicle-based dumping is a necessary and welcome start.
As he starkly illustrated, a US$30 fine for a businessman caught red-handed dumping on Cecil Avenue is not a punishment — it’s the cost of doing business, a paltry fee far less than the legitimate costs of fuel and dumping fees at the Richmond Landfill.
The math is as simple as it is scandalous. For a construction company, the choice between a one-time, easily absorbed US$30 fine and the recurring expense of proper waste disposal is a no-brainer. The current bylaws have effectively made our city’s open spaces a subsidised dumping ground.
However, while hiking fines is a crucial piece of the puzzle, it is not the entire solution. A US$300 fine is only a deterrent if there is a credible threat of being caught. As Ward 22 Councillor Mmeli Moyo correctly noted, we must also look at the “capacitation of those who must monitor littering.”
Our city’s enforcement arms are likely overstretched and under-resourced. The rogue truck drivers operating under the cover of darkness, as reported by vendors near Bangcwele Shops, rely on this veil of impunity.
Therefore, any meaningful strategy must be threefold:
First, deterrence through severe penalties.
The proposed fine increase must be passed with urgency. As Councillor Dumisani Nkomo pointed out, even smaller municipalities like Victoria Falls have set a precedent with heftier fines. Bulawayo, a historically proud and clean city, must lead, not follow.
Second, enforcement through enhanced vigilance. This requires investing in our law enforcement and cleansing departments.
This could mean dedicated patrols in known dumping hotspots, the strategic use of surveillance technology, and creating a streamlined, responsive system for residents to report offenders, as the mayor himself demonstrated can work.
Third, a shift in perception. We must stop seeing this as mere littering and start treating it for what it is: environmental vandalism and economic sabotage.
This blight degrades our property values, harms our tourism potential, and creates health hazards for residents. It is an attack on the very fabric of our city.
The transformation of Old Gwanda Road into an “unsightly dumping ground” is a symptom of a deeper malaise. It reflects a breakdown of corporate responsibility and a failure of civic enforcement.
The mayor’s proposal is the right medicine, but it must be part of a broader treatment plan. We need sharper teeth in our bylaws and stronger eyes on our streets. Only then can we reclaim our city from those who see it as nothing more than a landfill.
