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Herald Reporters
President Mnangagwa yesterday added weight to the national monthly clean-up after he made a surprise appearance at Fife Avenue Shopping Centre in Harare where he cleaned up shops and areas around the complex. Government has set the first Friday of every month as the national environment cleaning day.
Acting President Constantino Chiwenga graced the occasion in Eastlea, Harare, where he told participants that cleanliness should be a new culture.
President Mnangagwa led staff from his office in cleaning up the shopping centre. He talked to shoppers and onlookers as he walked into Spar Supermarket before proceeding to OK Zimbabwe. Some people jostled for photographs with the President.
In an interview, President Mnangagwa said there was need to inculcate a culture of cleanliness.
“Ndiripazororo. (I am on my annual leave). I just came to see if people have taken heed of the call that I made of cleaning their environment. I am happy that in most places that I have passed through people are cleaning up the environment,” said the President.
“It is a programme that I wish to take root among people whether here in urban areas or in the rural areas,” he said.
He challenged Zimbabweans to ensure the environment is always clean.
“We need not just wait for the first Friday of the beginning of the month, but everyday one should ensure that his or her environment is clean. It has to be a culture. We cannot be outdone by other countries, which I will not mention by names. They are clean. Our vision is that in our country by end of this year you will not see litter. It should be a culture for every Zimbabwean. All of us where we stay, our workplace, where we sleep, our homes where we eat, should be clean.”
President Mnangagwa was accompanied by State Security Minister Owen Ncube and other senior Government officials. The nation responded positively yesterday to the national clean-up exercise.
In Mashonaland East, provincial Environmental Management Agency manager Ms Juliet Mavhu commended the province for heeding the President’s call by cleaning up the provincial capital, Marondera.
Ms Mavhu said the response from stakeholders was overwhelming.
“Let me commend the response from various organisations in this province. It is positive as you know the President made the call recently and we launched the campaign, the response is just good,” she said.
In the Midlands province, people were seen cleaning the central business district in Kwekwe and Redcliff. There was a huge response from various Government departments and the corporate world.
Officials from Zibagwe Rural District Council participated in a clean-up exercise coordinated by the district administrator’s office.
Acting Kwekwe district administrator, Mr Clemence Muduma thanked organisations and residents for cleaning up the city.
“Companies also supplied lorries and bins. It was a huge success,” he said.
In Manicaland province, the corporate world joined residents in cleaning up Mutare City.
Manicaland provincial administrator, Mr Edgars Seenza, said the response showed people had taken heed of President Mnangagwa’s call for a clean environment. Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs Minister Mary Mliswa-Chikoka led the clean-up exercise in Norton.
She took a swipe at Norton Town Council for exposing residents to waterborne diseases by failing to collect garbage at Katanga business centre.
“How are you surviving with all this garbage? I am disappointed by Norton Town Council for failing to take proper action against the litter,” she said.
In Chinhoyi, Government officials joined the private sector in cleaning up the city.
The clean-up campaign was led by acting provincial administrator Mr Amigo Mhlanga and targeted areas such as Muzimba, Hunyani Section, Mpata and the Chinhoyi bus terminus.
In Kariba, Nyaminyami district administrator Mr Witness Kufa led the cleaning up of the resort town. The clean-up campaign targeted the Waverly bus terminus along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway in Kadoma.
Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry secretary, Mr Munesu Munodawafa led the clean-up exercise in Bulawayo.
“We are not cleaning for tourists but for the country. It is also not for politics – diseases attack us all when we live in dirty places,” said Mr Munodawafa.
He said initiating the clean-up exercise did not in any way undermined the role of local authorities.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube donated goods, including mineral water, on behalf of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa at Emthunzini Wethemba.
In Mashonaland Central province, Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Monica Muvhunga led the event at Bindura primary school. “We are going ahead with the work that was started by the President to clean up our areas because solid waste was stalling development as we have always been experiencing disease outbreaks,” she said.
In Matabeleland South province, the clean-up exercise was visible at Beitbridge border post.
It was led by Beitbridge mayor, Councillor Morgan Ncube and district administrator Mrs Kiliboni Ndou Mbedzi while in Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Ezra Chadzamira led provincial heads and the Joint Operations Command in cleaning Mashava Mine compound.
Online Reporter