Peter Tanyanyiwa
Herald Reporter
RESIDENTS, businesses and civic organisations in Ward 18 today joined the National Clean-Up Day campaign at Helensvale Shopping Centre, reinforcing calls for cleaner communities while stepping up efforts to tackle illegal vending, drug trafficking, littering and unplanned settlements in the northern suburbs of Harare.
The clean-up exercise, held from 8 am to 10 am, brought together the Borrowdale Residents and Ratepayers Association (BRRA), Clean & Green Zimbabwe, SPAR, the City of Harare, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Black Crystal, TotalEnergies and local residents in support of the monthly national clean-up programme initiated by President Mnangagwa.
The exercise also launched the Ward 18 Plastic Free July campaign, which encourages residents to recycle plastic waste throughout the month by depositing recyclable materials at the BRRA Recycling Centre.
Since President Mnangagwa introduced the National Clean-Up Day programme in December 2018, the initiative has become a nationwide environmental campaign held on the first Friday of every month to promote environmental stewardship, improve public health and instil a culture of cleanliness across Zimbabwe.
Ward 18 Councillor Mrs Rufaro Matsika said the campaign was about restoring order and encouraging residents to take collective responsibility for the environment.
She said the clean-up followed another exercise she had personally led around Helensvale two days earlier as part of ongoing efforts to improve environmental cleanliness across the ward ahead of the National Clean-Up Day programme.
“Today’s clean-up is more than collecting litter. It is about changing attitudes and building communities that take pride in their surroundings,” she said.
“We want every resident to understand that cleanliness begins at home and extends to our streets, shopping centres and public spaces.”
The councillor said the local authority and its partners had mobilised teams to remove litter along the stretch from the corner of ED Mnangagwa Road and Gletwin Road to the Food Basket area, while plans were underway to expand similar programmes to Helensvale and other areas that had become environmental hotspots.
“We are encouraging residents to make it a daily habit to clean their frontages and backyards instead of waiting for organised campaigns,” she said.
“A clean environment reduces health risks and improves the quality of life for everyone. We are also appealing for more litter bins and permanent signage to be installed at strategic points across the ward.”
She said attention was now shifting towards addressing four major challenges affecting the ward — disorderly people’s markets, illegal vending, drug trafficking and persistent littering.
Earlier in the day, Mrs Matsika engaged informal traders operating at the Helensvale market, where she called on vendors to organise themselves and maintain acceptable standards of cleanliness.
“Our markets must be orderly, safe and hygienic. We cannot allow littering, criminal activities and drug peddling to thrive in areas where families earn an honest living,” she said.
“Vendors must organise themselves, take responsibility for maintaining clean surroundings and comply with council by-laws.
“Failure to do so may result in enforcement measures, including removal from illegal operating sites.”
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