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Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
RESIDENTS of the Harare Metropolitan Province have welcomed President Mnangagwa’s declaration of the province as a “state of disaster” following the failure by the four councils in the province to remove garbage.
Service delivery in the province has collapsed with mountains of uncollected garbage strewn all over in residential areas, open spaces and shopping centres.
The corruption-riddled Harare City Council admitted failing to render proper service delivery in the capital, shifting the blame on private players who were alleged to be dumping refuse at illegal sites.
The council has not been collecting refuse in some parts of the city for months, while some suburbs have not received council water for a long time, with street lighting becoming a cause for concern among residents as it resulted in an increase in muggings during the night.
President Mnangagwa’s declaration overtakes the legal municipal independence for local services enjoyed by Harare and Chitungwiza and the near independence of Epworth and Ruwa local boards and thus allowing the central Government to move in.
The declaration was published in terms of the Civil Protection Act under Statutory Instrument 140 of 2023 cited as the Civil Protection (Declaration of State Disaster: Emergency Solid Waste Management Harare Metropolitan Province) Notice, 2023.
Residents in the province have welcomed the declaration and said it was long overdue as they feared disease outbreaks. Mr Timothy Gotora from Hopely hailed President Mnangagwa for declaring waste management in the Harare Metropolitan province as a state of disaster.
“We welcome the President’s declaration because the council has dismally failed. They have proved that they are total failures and we hope that through the President’s declaration, Government is going to improve our neighbourhoods in terms of service delivery,” he said.
Another resident Mr Kingston Jamu who operates a tuck shop in Epworth said he welcomed the decision as it will go a long way in giving a new face in Epworth which is well known for uncollected rubbish and bad roads.
“Our area is well known for multiple heaps of garbage because council has never collected rubbish in the area that is why it is known as “Kumagada” because of rubbish. We would like to thank President Mnangagwa and the Government for this decision and we hope that garbage will be collected as we live in fear of disease outbreaks,” he said.Mrs Judith Sibeko, a vendor from Chitungwiza, said the declaration would improve the town’s outlook.
“I think if the Government intervenes, service delivery will improve. The only thing popular in Chitungwiza is sewage as a result of continued burst sewer pipes, uncollected rubbish and bad roads. We are living in fear of disease outbreaks because some of our children will be playing outside closer to the sewage and illegal dumpsites,” she said.
Mrs Gina Muronzi from Mabvuku said President Mnangagwa’s decision was long overdue as they have endured decades without council water.
“We have had no council water for the past two decades and the council has done nothing. If it was not for the Presidential Borehole Drilling Scheme we would have been fetching water from unsafe water sources putting our lives and that of our children in danger.
“The issue of uncollected garbage is also worse in our area and I cannot remember when last did council collect rubbish in Mabvuku. I, therefore, want to thank President Mnangagwa for making this declaration and we assure him and the Zanu PF party of a flawless victory.”
Harare Metropolitan Province is made up of Harare, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Ruwa, the first, third, fifth and seventh most populated urban centres in Zimbabwe.
According to SI 140, Government “noted with great concern the deplorable state of cleanliness of the Harare Metropolitan Province, characterized among other things by litter and waste dumps accumulating in business and residential areas of the province, open burning of garbage and indiscriminate illegal dumping of solid waste and littering.”
The SI added that the local authorities in the province were unable to manage their waste due to, among other reasons, the failure to invest in waste management infrastructure, and the related equipment and human resources along with their inefficient collection practices and lack of environmental control systems.
“As a result of the failure to properly manage waste within the Harare Metropolitan Province, a state of disaster exists in that province with effect from the promulgation of this declaration,” it said.
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