Following a recent Cabinet directive for government intervention, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), a statutory body tasked with ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and protection, as well as the prevention of pollution and land degradation, has started cleaning up waste dumps in Harare suburbs and the central business district.
As the municipalities of Harare and Chitungwiza struggle to collect trash dumped on any vacant land, creating a serious health hazard, trash has been piling up on any vacant land in residential and commercial areas.
As a result, the government intervened through EMA to take control of the operation, which is a commendable action.
In total, 560 metric tonnes of rubbish have been removed from the residential and business districts and transported to the Pomona Waste Management site as part of the operation, according to a post-cabinet briefing yesterday.
Cabinet highlighted that, following the failure of the opposition-run Harare City Council to collect garbage, heaps of solid waste have accumulated around the City of Harare, and the Central Government has intervened to reverse the trend.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, signed the State of Disaster Declaration on Emergency Solid Waste Management two weeks ago to further improve the removal of solid waste in the city. The declaration sets a goal of having a clean Harare Metropolitan Province in three months.
As a result, the government will provide the support required to meet the goal and ensure that corrective action is taken in the three local authorities of the metropolitan province—Harare, Chitungwiza, and Ruwa—to effectively manage solid waste throughout the duration of the declaration.
