Pomona dump site set to benefit city

venture with Infinite Energy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd with the city owning 15 percent of the business while the local investor would have 85 percent.
“Council approves the signing of the joint venture agreement between City of Harare and Infinite Energy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd regarding the extraction of landfill biogas at Golden Quarry and Pomona landfills,” read the minutes.
The city also agreed that any previous decisions that did not conform with the latest agreement be rescinded.  But Clrs Charity Bango and Lancelot Mudavanhu registered their displeasure with the deal on the grounds that the shareholding was skewed in favour of the investor.
Town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi said Infinite Energy Zimbabwe would invest US$6 million in the deal that would involve protecting the two sites.
He said the city would also benefit through carbon credits. A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide.
Carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases.
The two sites have been subject to wild fires that caused choking fumes and were a threat to public health and wildlife.
The extraction of the biogas would mean the containment of the fires and the beneficiation of the waste.
Before the deal was approved there was intense debate with some councillors arguing for and others against.
Clr Masiye Kapare said since council owned the land the shareholding should be increased.
Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Chiroto saw no reason why the deal should be stopped saying the city had been sitting on the quarry for years.
He said the city should be grateful that it would be able to generate some funds from the garbage that had been sitting idle for years.