Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
MIDLANDS has carried out 102 clean up campaigns from December last year to date as the province embraces a culture of environmental stewardship following the Presidential declaration on waste management.
On Friday, clean up campaigns took place in Kwekwe, Zvishavane, Gokwe, Shurugwi and Gweru where Government departments led by the Environmental Management Agency and local authorities took to the streets and shopping centres for the worthy exercise.
The Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavima, in a speech read on his behalf by the Provincial Administrator Mr Abiot Maronge at Ascot Shopping Centre in Gweru, said the campaign would help in the fight against disease.
“Prior to this programme the province had faced the problem of dysentery and diarrhea-related illnesses that saw a number of people passing on in most parts of the province with Gweru being the epicentre.
“It is thus hoped that with an uptake of this programme on a daily basis rather than on specified dates, the problem of diarrheal illnesses will be a thing of the past.”
“Currently the province has managed to carry out 102 clean up campaigns coordinated under my office since the declaration, reducing illegal dumps from 249 to a current figure of 76.
“The onus is now on us as residents and citizens of Midlands to desist from disposing solid waste at undesignated points and to clear the remaining illegal dumps.
“It is also the duty of our local authorities to ensure that every household has a litter bin and that litter bins are collected timeously and regularly to avoid waste build up at household level,” said Minister Mavima.
He said the province has identified 52 hot spots where special clean-ups shall be conducted this month.
“Over and above the 52 designated sites, my office has instructed that all the Government officials should come out and clean up their premises and this shall be the case with industry and commerce.
“I therefore call upon the residents and citizens of Midlands Province to come out in their multitudes and participate in this noble gesture that will result in us living in a clean, safe and healthy environment.
“I also call upon the corporate world to play an active role in this programme, as currently the programme is running on a zero budget hence the need for support from the corporate world,” said Minister Mavima.
Online Reporter