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Loveness Mpofu, Sunday News Reporter
VARIOUS organisations embarked on a clean up campaign of tourist attraction sites in Bulawayo aimed at keeping the city clean in line with the political thrust to attract investment into the country.
The initiative spearheaded by Mr Sam Nkomo, an environment and wildlife conservation activist, saw various stakeholders including the city council, Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition, National Railways of Zimbabwe, EMMAUS International, Mbira Tours and Safaris, Reaching out Charity Organisation and Edgars Stores partnering to make the campaign a success.
The campaign started with picking up of litter at the Centenary Park, National Museum and the National Railways of Zimbabwe train station.
Mr Nkomo said: “Today we are cleaning the Centenary Park, National Museum and the National Railways of Zimbabwe train station. Our next destination will be the Matopos National Park and right now we are waiting for clearance from the Matobo Rural District Council. As an environment and wildlife conservation activist I saw it prudent to initiate this clean-up campaign, especially now that Zimbabwe is open for business. This means that as tourists come here they should find the city clean and this will attract investment into the country.”
Mr Nkomo urged the council to address the shortage of bins in the city saying it was one of the major causes of littering.
“Litter is not only a threat to the environment but also to wildlife. You see an elephant eating plastics and in the next two years it will die. The reason why people throw litter is largely because of shortage of bins.
If you look here there is no bin around, so where will people throw litter. In Western countries, people who litter are arrested and they pay fines of more than $500, but this is not implemented this side. There should be zero tolerance to litter in the country,” he said.
Reaching Out Charity Organisation founder Ms Langelihle Sibanda also applauded the initiative saying locals should prioritise keeping the city clean so as to bring investment into the country. She urged youths to engage in such activities, as they are the pillars of the nation.
Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition representative Mr Justice Zvaita said: “We are trying to promote what we call the environmental squad ship, where we are saying we really need to manage our waste in this climate change era.
“We want to motivate the public that every day you wake up you need to play your role in keeping the city clean. Also if we don’t manage our waste it ends up in water sources, which becomes more costly for the city fathers to purify.”
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derick.khumalo