Andrew
Nokuthula Dube
A recent study by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) revealed the extent of Harare City Council’s incompetence after discovering more than 7 000 illegal dumpsites in the city that the local authority is failing to deal with.
EMA has since filed a High Court application to compel council to collect the garbage.
A mapping exercise carried out by the agency in Harare’s Central Business District (CBD) and residential areas showed that places such as Montague, Leopold Takawira and Bank Street (Bata), Copacabana and Market Square were overwhelmed by heaps of uncollected refuse.
EMA spokesperson Ms Amkela Sidange told The Sunday Mail that the High Court application seeks to compel council to fulfil ratepayer’s expectations.
“Mapping of illegal waste dumps and litter stretches is a recurring activity which the agency does regularly as another way of monitoring the state of waste management around the country,” she said.
“In a recent exercise in the City of Harare, illegal dumps have been mapped in all suburbs and Central Business District. Over 7 000 illegal dumps were mapped in the process.
‘‘The agency has initiated a High Court application for the City of Harare for unsustainable waste management practices, in particular the emergence of waste dumps all over the city.”
Illegal dumping refers to discarding waste at undesignated sites.
Harare, added Ms Sidange, is also one of the local authorities without a fully functional sewage treatment system.
“Sewage discharges normally come from local authorities. To date, out of the 95 sewer treatment plants currently being monitored by the agency, 28 are non-functional and discharging raw sewage, while 34 are partly operational and discharging partially treated sewage into the environment, thus resulting in the discharge of 399 megalitres daily of raw and partially treated sewage into the environment.”
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme acknowledged that they were facing challenges in refuse collection as they have only five working refuse trucks that are expected to service close to 50 wards in the capital.
“We are trying our best as the council to collect garbage around the city, but we only have five functional trucks. The other ones are still in service. As soon as the trucks are serviced, we will provide the best service to our citizens,” he said.
EMA says poor waste management practices are not limited to Harare, as the agency has also cracked the whip on other local authorities and companies that illegally dump waste and operate without bins.
Fines for such practices range from $30 000 to $50 000 per every violation.
In 2021, EMA issued 244 tickets and 45 environmental protection orders for effluent discharge-related offences, while this year six tickets and 55 orders have been issued.
Over the years, Harare has battled to control outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhoid, which are partly caused by poor waste management practices.
In 2018, Harare recorded more than 100 deaths in Glen View and Budiriro after a cholera outbreak due to contaminated boreholes.
Online Reporter