Sundaymail Editor
Tendai Rupapa
Senior Reporter
MOUNDS of garbage and litter that had become synonymous with Gazebo Shopping Centre in Caledonia — one of the country’s most populous peri-urban settlements — were cleared yesterday, giving the area a new look and breadth of fresh air, courtesy of First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, who joined hands with thousands of residents for the clean-up.
The collective effort witnessed men, women and youths cleaning the settlement’s environs, giving it a smart outlook, a development that is envisaged to help keep diseases at bay.
In 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared every first Friday of the month a National Clean-Up Day.
The First Lady said she broke tradition to conduct the clean-up on a Saturday because visiting Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi and his spouse Mrs Neo Jane Masisi were officially opening the 112th edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show.
She called on residents to make cleaning their environments a daily routine and not wait for the designated day to conduct the exercise.
“We know that every first Friday of the month is a National Clean-up Day. However, yesterday we had visitors – President of Botswana and his wife. President Masisi officially opened the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, so that is where we were and that is why I did not come here yesterday (Friday). However, we clean up every day. Let us be smart at all times and live in a clean environment. We are about to enter the rainy season and if we do not sweep there will be blockages, which cause diseases, therefore, we must always practise good hygiene. I want to thank you Caledonia for coming out in your numbers,” the First Lady said to applause.
The mother of the nation, who is also the patron of the environment, said it was now four years since the launch of the National Clean-Up Day by President Mnangagwa, and to date, the nation had witnessed a positive change in the adoption of different best practices in the management of waste.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Constitution of Zimbabwe clearly states that it is the right of every citizen to access a clean environment that is not harmful to health. The National Clean-Up Programme has come a long way in ensuring that citizens of Zimbabwe realise this birthright. This resonates very well with the provisions of sound waste management enshrined in the National Development Strategy 1, precisely on promoting recycling initiatives. Moreover, the sustainability of this is augmented through mainstreaming activities that promote the circular economy, such as waste segregation at source and material recovery for recycling,” she said.
The First Lady urged everyone to remain committed to promoting good waste-handling practices to reduce the carbon footprint by different sectors of the economy. She said she had observed some unsustainable waste management practices in Caledonia, like the absence of refuse collection and lack of proper disposal of waste because there is no official local authority in charge of the area yet.
“I pray for the speedy finalisation of the matter so as to enable development of a proper waste management plan for Caledonia. However, we should take the high waste generation in Caledonia as an opportunity for waste recovery and recycling initiatives, leaving less waste destined for disposal and at the same time creating green jobs. Rampant dumping of waste at undesignated places will become a thing of the past as trash would be converted to cash. Let me also emphasise that the burning of waste is not a sustainable waste management practice and we greatly condemn it,” she said.
Burning waste, the First Lady said, resulted in air pollution, which could contribute towards greenhouse gases, thus causing climate change; and affects the health of the young, elderly and those suffering from respiratory ailments.
She urged people to desist from burning waste in urban areas and implored local authorities to remain committed to establishing sustainable waste management systems, with clear plans and schedules that are strictly adhered to.
Waste collection, she added, should be prioritised in all areas so as to avoid the accumulation of waste at undesignated sites.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Zimbabwe does not exist in isolation but in the global village, hence the need to strive by all means to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals; in particular, Goal 9 on Responsible Consumption and Production, and Goal 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities. Keeping our environs clean definitely plays a pivotal role towards attainment of these global goals.”
This month’s clean-up day, she said, falls during the September World Clean-Up Month, where every third Saturday in the month is set aside as the World Clean-Up Day.
Thus, September 17 has been set aside for that purpose. “The world is drowning in its own waste and yet so many people have become used to it and they do not even see it any more. As a country, let’s unite with millions of volunteers, governments and organisations in about 191 countries worldwide to tackle the global waste problem and build a sustainable world.
“I am happy and proud that for Zimbabwe, this complements the first Friday of the month National Clean-Up Programme that was launched by the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Cde Dr E.D. Mnangagwa on December 5, 2018. On that note, the September 2 National Clean-Up Day doubles as celebration of the World Clean-Up month and our own national milestone of the National Clean-Up Programme. To that end, ladies and gentlemen, this should be a month punctuated with a lot of cleaning activities aimed towards making our environment clean and healthy,” Amai Mnangagwa said.
Dr Mnangagwa called upon the nation to reconsider its behaviour and embrace the notion that a clean environment is everyone’s right, and it calls for everyone to play an active role to achieve it.
“Let us all therefore remain focused on achieving a clean, safe and healthy environment that we so much envisage as a nation and create the future we all want. It takes us all to create the Zimbabwe we want – play your part,” she said.
Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Apolonia Munzverengwi said as a province they were privileged to have been led in the clean-up by the First Lady.
“We should all make a difference by actively participating in cleaning up and greening our environment, homes and workplaces consistently, and therefore demonstrating a sense of ownership of our environment.
”It is my hope that after the completion of the regularisation exercise of Caledonia, the responsible local authority will quickly move in with supporting waste infrastructure in the form of litter bins, waste transfer stations and a landfill, as well as a functional sewer system, as these will be convenient for people to maintain cleanliness,” she said.
Minister Munzverengwi said her office will continue to foster the civic duty of clean-ups in all the province’s nine districts to influence the public to take ownership of keeping their service centres, workplaces and environment clean.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Professor Prosper Matondi, the chief director in the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
“Amai Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa joined thousands of Zimbabweans here in Caledonia in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, for the clean-up activities. She led people in an effort towards a better clean Zimbabwe for our homes, our communities and our business shopping centres. She led in the sweeping and clearing of garbage heaps, giving the shopping centre a new face. Our mother is saying keeping the environment clean helps foster good health for individuals, as well as the community and the nation at large,” he said.
Also thankful to the First Lady for her efforts were Caledonia residents, who applauded her for leading them.
Mrs Tendai Chimbwanda said: “I want to thank the First Lady for coming to our area to clean up together with us under a programme enunciated by President Mnangagwa that we must clean up once a month. I thank her because this is good for our health and I wish to say to others at home that they should continue conducting this exercise in their communities so that we lower the incidence of diseases. Today, we have a clean-up on a Saturday as our mother strives to show that the clean-up can be held any day and we must not just wait for the Friday that was set aside by the President,” she said.
Another resident, Mrs Violet Matare, could not hide her joy.
“I want to thank the First Lady, who continues encouraging us to practice good hygiene. Hygiene does not come from being sent, but as a woman and man, it is good to teach our children that unhygienic practices spawn diseases. We thank our mother for this good initiative. She did not select that this is a lowly place, but she came to teach us and encourage us to live in a clean environment,” she said.
Mr Zvikomborero Gadaga promised to carry forward the clean-up initiatives so that his community reaps the associated benefits.
“This place has shops, so it has to be smart and presentable. This clean-up exercise is not for women alone and children, but as men we must join hands with them and see to it that our community is always clean. I have welcomed this programme brought by Amai and I wish it is carried forward and our community is cleaned. We should continue doing this every day, and I thank her immensely,” he said.
Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry deputy minister Barbra Rwodzi attended the event.
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