Online Reporter
Michelle Musandinyoze, [email protected]
RELIGIOUS organisations in Bulawayo on Friday joined residents in the National Clean-Up Campaign, heeding President Mnangagwa’s call for collective action in promoting a clean and healthy environment.
The clean up campaign, which has gained prominence in the city, was also joined by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS), Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and schools.
Various churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apostolic Faith Church and various Pentecostal congregations, participated and encouraged the rest of the residents to join the noble cause.
Selbourne Park Group of Churches and Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe’s Pastor Witness Mzizi said they desired to answer to the President’s call, as well as to set a precedent for residents to participate in keeping the environment clean.
“As churches, we tend to emphasise spiritual cleanliness and righteousness, but we are encouraging people to take care of the environment first, even if it is not scriptural,” he said
Pastor Mzizi also said that Christians constitute 75 percent of the country’s religious population, which means they are the largest littering group, hence they should be responsible for ensuring that the environment is clean.
He also commended efforts by vendors who have been participating in the initiative, saying this is remarkable as they are no longer operating in dirty places.
City Presbyterian Church’s Pastor John Stambolie said they were motivated by the fact that they are stewards of God’s word as well as the ‘salt and light’ in the world, hence they were living up to the principles of God’s will, which also emphasises cleanliness.
“As churches, we are leading by example towards a clean Bulawayo. Our motivation comes from both Government and theology.
“In the Bible, God created human beings and placed them in a garden, instructing them to look after it,” he said.
The campaign was implemented in collaboration with other faith groups and institutions, including the Muslim community, Bulawayo City Council and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).
Bulawayo Churches Clean-up Campaign Coordinator, Mr Karl Malotane, said that as churches, they decided to come together in support of zero tolerance to litter.
“We are so considerate that behaviour change is keen in our cleaning process as we target vendors, shop owners, among others,” he said.
Mr Malotane said that the objective is to instil principles of cleanliness in every individual so that they adopt the initiative as a lifestyle and cultural thing.
One of the youthful participants, Miss Prosperity Mbala from the Assemblies of God Church, said that she was happy to see the initiative growing since it began in November last year.
“I feel like it is our duty as young people to educate each other on how to take care of the environment as we constitute a significant proportion of the country’s population,” she said
Another participant, Ms Diana Khumalo, also from the Assemblies of God Church, said vendors should treat their spaces as offices, which need to be clean all the time and shun the behaviour of window littering from motorists while encouraging residents to join the drive.
Areas cleaned during the exercise included Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Street to 10th Avenue, Sixth Avenue to Fort Street and Herbert Chitepo Street.
