Online Reporter
Tanaka Nkala, [email protected]
THE Bulawayo City Council has commended stakeholder participation in maintaining cleanliness in the city as it received another donation on Monday of 14 refuse bins from the Roman Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP).
City Mayor, Councillor David Coltart, council officials and church representatives attended the handover event, the first such contribution from a church-affiliated organisation toward the municipality’s waste management efforts.
CCJP representative, Father Fikile Dlamini, said the donation was inspired by the social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the principle of the integrity of creation.
He said this was inspired by the social teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, which invite the congregation to promote human dignity, solidarity, common good and the integrity of creation.
“In the Book of Genesis, God created human beings and asked them to care for the earth. Caring for our surroundings is one of our duties,” said Father Dlamini
He said environmental protection has become one of CCJP’s key areas of ministry, with church groups across Bulawayo already conducting regular clean up campaigns around churches, homes and communities.
Some parishes have extended their efforts beyond church grounds into surrounding suburbs, working with residents to promote responsible waste disposal.
Father Dlamini said the commission had also partnered with the city’s cleansing department and other stakeholders to host workshops on solid waste management, bringing together council officials and residents to discuss collaborative solutions.
“We want to be part of the solution and these bins are a small contribution but we hope they will carry a strong message that litter belongs in a bin and not on the ground.”
In his remarks, Clr Coltart described the gesture as heart-warming and praised the Catholic Church for what he termed consistent moral leadership over decades.
“The donation of any bins warms my heart, but I am particularly delighted by this donation coming from the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace,” he said.
“I see this donation today as simply another in a long line of leading from the front.”
However, the mayor stressed that while bins are important, infrastructure alone will not solve the city’s litter problem.
“Providing bins is only one part of cleanliness. We need to change our mindset,” he said.
Clr Coltart urged churches to use their influence to educate congregants, particularly young people about responsible waste disposal.
He described the city’s cleansing department as one of the better-performing units within council, despite operational challenges such as a shortage of refuse trucks last year.
Clr Coltart also revealed that the city had hired additional trucks from the Ministry of Local Government and 21 new refuse trucks on order, pending the release of funds.
“When those 21 trucks come, we will be up to full capacity but even then we need partnership with residents and with the church,” he said.
The council hopes that the CCJP initiative would inspire other denominations and organisations to contribute to keeping Bulawayo clean.
As the 14 bins were formally handed over, both church and civic leaders emphasised that maintaining a clean city is a shared responsibility.
With the new bins set to be deployed across the city the partnership between church and council signals a renewed push toward building a culture of environmental accountability in Bulawayo.
