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The Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Bulawayo City Council, and Environment Africa, X Man Tours, City Rollers, Hursh Touch and Dube Holdings, chipped in with resources to enable the youths carry out the cleaning up exercise.
In an interview during the cleaning up, exercise Bulawayo’s Child Governor Bonlat Machiha said the campaign was a demonstration that youths were ready and willing to take care of the environment.
“We are the ones who will inherit the environment from the present generation. It is up to us to play a big role in ensuring that we protect it,” said Machiha.
The Zimbabwe Youth Council’s provincial manager for Bulawayo, Ms Ruth Ncube, said more clean-up campaigns by the youth would be organised as part of measures to spruce up Bulawayo.
She said Zimbabwe was a leading tourist destination in the Southern African region, mainly because of its cleanliness and the youths wanted the country to maintain this status.
Vendors at the market applauded the youths’ effort.
“The market has never been so clean. Even the smell of rotting vegetables that is often in the air is not here today. These children have done a wonderful thing. I hope people here will respect their efforts and maintain the high standard of cleanliness that they have set. We will never have cholera and typhoid in Bulawayo if we follow their example,” said Mrs Mavis Nyoni, one of the vendors.
EMA manager for Bulawayo Mr Decent Ndlovu said he was happy that youths realised the importance of maintaining a clean environment.
“There are about 150 school pupils and more than 250 youths from other ogarniastions here. I understand some could not make it due to examinations and other commitments. However, the turn out is good,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Among the schools that turned up for the campaign were Imbizo Primary, Cowdray Park Secondary, Sizane High, Milton High, Townsend High, Eveline High, Emakhandeni Secondary, Njube High, Amhlophe High, Masotsha High, Pumula High and Magwegwe High.
In a related development, scores of Zanu-PF youths in Victoria Falls have embarked on a voluntary clean-up campaign in and around the town aimed at keeping the resort town clean ahead of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly next year.
The youths started the initiative two weeks ago after observing that the town had litter all over at a time when the country is preparing to jointly host UNWTO general assembly with Zambia.
In an interview recently, Zanu-PF District Coordinating Committee (DCC) chairperson for Maqhawe District and the programme coordinator, Cde Matthew Muleya, said as youths they could not just watch while the uncollected litter turned the beautiful town into an eyesore.
He said after realising that council employees were not visible because of the salary dispute, they decided to undertake the cleaning.
“We have been picking up litter and sweeping it along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, all public institutions like the Victoria Falls police station, VID, the hospital and today we are cleaning the central business district,” said Cde Muleya.
He said there was need to spruce up the town ahead of UNWTO general assembly.
“We also want to source litter bins so that they are all over the place for people to throw in litter,” said the chairperson.
Online Reporter