Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
Gwanda Municipality is mulling starting a new dumpsite at a location out of town as lack of funds to purchase equipment to operate a landfill stalls plans to adopt environmentally friendly waste disposal mechanisms.
The dumpsite being used was condemned 10 years ago due to its proximity to homes.
It poses a public health threat as some children have turned it into a playground and residents have had to put up with hazardous smoke coming from the dumpsite.
Recent studies have found that air pollution is linked to childhood cancers and cognitive impairment in both children and adults.
Prolonged exposure to air pollution can also lead to heart and lung-related illnesses.
Residents have since engaged the council to move the dumpsite which they say is affecting them.
The dumpsite has also become a feeding ground for baboons and monkeys that have become a menace.
The local authority constructed a compliance landfill which was expected to start operating by the end of April once the appropriate equipment had been procured.
Gwanda Mayor Councillor Njabulo Siziba said getting the landfill running was still far off.
He conceded that the current dumpsite posed a health hazard to residents and its removal long overdue.
He said there were no timelines for when the landfill would start operating, adding that the Health and Housing committees would meet this week to map a way forward. — @Yolisswa
derick.khumalo