TATENDA CHIKARA IN MASVINGO
The mayor for the City of Masvingo, Collen Maboke has said that the local authority has made some strides towards developing a new dumpsite at Cambria, Business Times can report.
Maboke said Masvingo was on course to complete the project in September.
“We have not encountered any major challenges developing the new dumpsite at Cambria. We look forward to seeing the landfill starting to work by September, this year. If any challenges arise we will go back to the residents,” Maboke said.
The Cambria landfill is situated about 12km away from Masvingo central business district.
The current dumpsite located in between the residential suburbs of Runyararo West and Victoria Ranch has become a serious health hazard.
“The advantages with this landfill is that it is far from the residents, so in the case of those who were burning waste like from the current dumpsite the residents will not be easily affected,” Maboke said.
Environmental Management Agency Provincial communications officer Brian Makani commended the move to urgently decommission the Runyararo West and Victoria Ranch Dumpsite, arguing that the Cambria landfill was an investment initiative as waste was seen as raw materials for recycling and many companies would flock to buy plastic.
“This is the best move by Masvingo to urgently decommission the previous dumpsite because here at the landfill waste is not seen as waste but it is seen as a resource for recycling. It’s not by surprise that many companies will flock to buy plastic here for recycling processes because waste can be separated as bio-degradable waste and plastic, meaning to say raw materials will be coming from things we call,” Makani told Business Times during a recent tour of the dumpsite.
Meanwhile, the city’s sewage work superintendent Innocent Munhazu said he was concerned with human activities as well as excessive rains that have contributed to them dislodging a maximum of 40 tons of sand a month in its Rujeko sewer pump station instead of a recommended one ton capacity thereby wearing the pumps.
“As a result we end up pumping sand instead of sludge. So we ask for help in the form of getting the communities educated on the effects of depositing sand into the system as it is causing a rapid deterioration of our pumps,” Munhazu said.
