Staff writer
Harare residents are raising concern over the accumulation of litter which takes long to be collected at the city’s terminuses in the Central Business District and residential suburbs.
Residents blame private companies that carry out waste management obligation and city council for not carrying out their mandate diligently, thereby putting their health at risk.
In an in interview with The Blast, Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations of Residents Trust, chairman ,Shalvar Chikomba said he was receiving a number of calls from residents and other stakeholders who are complaining over erratic collection of litter at the bus terminuses in the CBD and in residential areas.
“We are receiving quite a number of calls and messages from residents who are raising concern over accumulation of litter at the bus terminuses and also in residential areas.
We have tried to get in touch with the city of Harare waste department which is saying they have few functional refuse collection trucks at their disposal,”said Chikomba.
“We told them that we know they have entered into partnerships with private refuse collection players such as Geo Pomona.We thought that partnership will improve waste collection but we are yet to see the real results of partnering with such companies”.
Chikomba said the City council must honour up its obligation to collect refuse to preserve the health of residents.
“We are urging the local authority to fulfil its mandate to collect refuse on time.We wonder why they collect monthly rates from residents when they fail to collect waste on time.They always raise concern either that their trucks are grounded or that they dont have fuel for the refuse trucks…where is the money paid by residents as monthly rates going to?.
Is it a case of misplaced priority or something else?”
Chikomba said Cholera is recurring every year as city council is failing to collect refuse.
“We fear an upsurge of Cholera outbreak as some cases were reported in Budiriro.If waste is collected on time, diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery can be prevented or controlled.
Its now a norm to have cases of cholera yearly in Harare.
Its sad that council is failing to put measures of preventing the recurrence of Cholera.
“If garbage accumulates , health of residents will be at risk.We are not happy as residents and we are calling upon city of Harare to do its mandated work.We are also calling private partners to honour up otherwise we might end realising that there is no need for such private partnerships agreements.If they are failing to collect waste, so whats their use.Its sad that residents pay monthly rates yet authorities fail to hounour their mandate,” said Chikomba.
Said Combined Harare Residents Association in a statement:
“The situation in Harare’s CBD, particularly Fourth Street, Copacabana, and Market Square, is dire. The accumulation of litter has created an environment that poses serious health risks to residents and workers. The privatization of waste management services by the City of Harare has seemingly exacerbated the issue.
“Urgent action is necessary to mitigate the health risks and prevent potential disasters like a cholera outbreak.”
No immediate comment could be obtained from city council.
The City of Harare partnered with Geo Pomona Waste Management, a private company, to address the city’s waste management challenges, particularly illegal dumpsites and inefficient refuse collection. This partnership, initiated in late 2024, involves a phased approach, starting with clearing illegal dumpsites and eventually integrating a more structured waste collection system. The City of Harare continues with door-to-door collection in the meantime, as Geo Pomona finalizes logistics and deploys its collection fleet.