Budiriro4 Residents hail EMA For Removal of Illegal Waste Dumps

By Edward Makuzva

RESIDENTS in Buduriro 4 hails the Environment Management Agency (EMA) for removal of illegal waste dumps as the solid waste management has emerged as one of the menaces facing surrounding locations and City of Harare.

Zimbabwe faces serious waste management problems characterized by poor liquid and solid waste disposal and poorly controlled air, land and water pollution. These waste management problems are especially severe in all urban areas where solid waste management and sewage reticulation and treatment requirements have outstripped the capacity of the local authorities to efficiently deal with them.

Many residents contended they were facing severe health risks such cholera and typhoid during the rainy season as the solid contaminated by uncollected refuse was washing waste into the boreholes that residents use for drinking water.

Dogs and cats carcasses, pampers for the old and young, flies invading their houses, and cattle straying from Harare City Council paddocks nearby, have spelt disaster for the residents as the threats of violence and verbal abuse from rowdy characters dumping solid waste on their doorstep, the residents have seen hell as they are sitting at a time health time bomb.

The volume of waste being generated has continued to increase at a faster rate than the ability of the city council to cope and improve on the financial and technical resources needed. Although solid waste management is a pressing problem in Harare, it is not a new one. It has persisted over the years.

In an interview with this publication, Richard Kucherera a resident of Budiriro 4 hails the Agency for clearing the illegal dump waste which was at his door step and surrounding homes in the location, which was now a health hazard factor for the residents.

Kucherera highlighted that shop owners from Budiriro 4 send their employees to dump their waste on this illegal waste dump and this is making life difficult for us as residents and our fear is that we can have cholera or typhoid outbreak here.

“Our house is at the end such that all the residents are now dumping the waste here as a result of Harare City Council are not colecting waste and their responses is very simple there is no fuel to carry out their duties.

” Our life is in danger imagine, dogs and cats carcasses, pampers for the old and young, flies invading their houses, and cattle straying from Harare City Council paddocks nearby, have spelt disaster for the residents as the threats of violence and verbal abuse from rowdy characters dumping solid waste on their doorstep, the residents have seen hell as they are sitting at a time health time bomb”, Kucherera explained.

Speaking at a media update on the remedial work being done by EMA in collaboration with local authorities in the Harare Metropolitan Province since the Declaration of ‘ State of Disaster on Solid Waste Management , Fri8day, EMA spokesperson Amkela Sidange said illegal dumping of waste is an offence.

Sidange added that the activities that we have here actually, it is the implementation is coming after the declaration the state of the disaster in solid waste management in Harare Metropolitan Province.

The poor waste management in four Harare Metropolitan councils, which are Harare, Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Epworth , declared a “state of disaster”, by His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa after government had noted the deplorable state of cleanliness of the Harare Metropolitan Province as the local authorities were unable to manage their waste.

“As an Agency we have been given an oversight role of coordinating activities especially waste removal, monitoring and enforcing remedial actions.

“The major activities that were listed as part of remedial actions, include removal of illegal dumps.

“We have also issues were local authorities have to submit plans to the Agency, and the Agency to monitor that the plans are implemented religiously, also ordering local authorities to ring fence the funds that are meant for solid waste management, installation of bins in public places and awareness raising”, Sidange explained.

Sidange revealed that the removal of waste dumps has been going on with a target of about removing 800 illegal waste dumps that were made across the province.

“A total of 348 illegal waste dumps that have been cleared. We are about a month and half into the programme meaning that we should be at about 50% but we are at about 348 because we have been running against a moving target.

“I’m calling it a moving target because when dumps are cleared they quickly recur. This is one challenge that we have been facing in that instead of doing the hit and run, clearing and move on to the next problem, we have been forced to go back and clear again where we had cleared before because illegal dumping is still continuing,” said Sidange.

She added that there are some local authorities who have shown keen interest but some are still in the shadows. They haven’t really come out.

“We we’re yet to see that kind of approach that we’re expecting. We haven’t seen the best from these local authorities hoping they’re still doing the best but I think it’s taking too much time.

“However, we have seen some commendable efforts in Ruwa and Epworth Local Boards to a certain extent, they’re doing so well in terms of collection of waste and we are seeing a reduction of illegal dumps. But we’re still to see similar efforts in the City of Harare, especially and Chitungwiza,” Sidange added.

Sidange added that EMA has engaged corporates and mining companies for empty drums that can be fabricated into bins.

“To date we’re sitting on a ‘beautiful’ pledge of about 510 full drums from the corporates, mining communities and individuals which are currently being fabricated to be turned into bins,” She Said.

Speaking at the same occasion, Chitungwiza Town Council spokesperson Lovemore Meya said inorder to stop recurrence of illegal waste dumps communities need to change their mindset not to dump waste at illegal dumping sites.

“We expect service delivery to continue to improve to all the areas following the acquisition of state of the art equipment that we have since started to make use of. We are currently clearing silt that has been cleared off from storm water drains. We expect to cascade the programme to all the areas having started in St Mary’s upto Seke.

“In terms of collection efficiency, we are at 100% save to say that we expect to do door-to-door collections twice a week but currently we’re managing to do that only once a week due to resources constrains. Residents are also complaining of bin liners and we are working with EMA to provide those”, Meya added.