Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]
GWANDA Municipality has set a target of one month to relocate the town’s dumpsite which was condemned a decade ago due to its proximity to residential areas.
For years, residents of the mining town waited anxiously for the local authority to act on the issues, which is affecting them as the hazardous smoke are encroaching on their homes resulting in the choking smoke which is putting their lives in danger.
Gwanda Municipality in 2015 constructed a compliance landfill with the assistance of World Vision, and last year the local authority passed a resolution to move the dumpsite and set a deadline of April 30, which it failed to meet.
For the landfill to start functioning, a compactor, bulldozer, front-end loader, excavator, weighing scale, and a self-weighing compactor truck are needed.
The landfill will help solve the waste disposal challenges that the town is facing. Residents from Garikai/ Hlalani Kuhle whose houses are located near the illegal dumpsite are the most affected.
Gwanda mayor Councillor Thulani Moyo said they have already started working on relocating the dumpsite.
“I have set a 30-day target to have the dumpsite moved to the new landfill site. If as a council we don’t take the lead on proper disposal of waste then people will continue littering,” he said.
“I feel as a council we have, for a long time, been neglecting an issue that has been affecting residents. Council has been failing to move the dumpsite because of the absence of the required earth-moving equipment.”
Cllr Moyo said they have been engaging some stakeholders such as the Rural Infrastructure Development Authority including the local MP, Cde Fisani Moyo to assist them in sourcing the necessary equipment.
He said in the long run council will use devolution funds to secure earth-moving equipment.
Cllr Moyo said Gwanda Municipality will also work on improving on improving its waste collection schedule.
“At the moment the council has two refuse compactors though one needs to be repaired and we have been forced to use a tipper which isn’t ideal. We will work on ensuring that the other refuse compactor is back on the road as soon as possible,” he said.
“Currently, we are collecting refuse once a week per ward, but according to our previous strategic plan, we are supposed to increase our collection to twice or three times a week per ward. Residents are encouraged to have dust bins at their homes.”
Cllr Moyo said residents across the town will be engaged so that they adopt proper solid waste management and recycling to help reduce the amount of litter which is collected and taken to the landfill.
Modern landfills are well-engineered and managed facilities for the disposal of solid waste. Landfills are located, designed, operated and monitored to ensure compliance with regulations. They are also designed to protect the environment from contaminants, which may be present in the waste stream. Landfills cannot be built in environmentally- sensitive areas, and they are placed using on-site environmental monitoring systems.
Gwanda is using an illegal dumpsite located adjacent to Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle and a few metres from the Joshua Mqabuko Polytechnic. The illegal dumpsite being used is a major attraction for baboons who flock to the area and in the process vandalizing property in people’s houses. Some of the baboons stray into the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic College.
The dumpsite is also an eyesore for travellers using the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Highway.
-@DubeMatutu
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