Staff Writer
The Zimbabwe National Organisation of Residents Associations Trust (ZNOART) has raised alarm over conditions at Bulawayo’s Richmond Landfill, popularly known as the Ngozi Mine Dumpsite, warning that uncontrolled waste, fires and poor sanitation are threatening the health and environmental rights of residents.
Speaking after a tour of the dumpsite, ZNOART National Chairman Shalvar Chikomba said the organisation had witnessed open and underground burning, persistent smoke emissions, informal waste picking and inadequate access to safe water.
“We witnessed uncontrolled waste, open and underground burning and leachate that are directly threatening the environmental rights of Bulawayo residents,” Chikomba said.
He said the situation was particularly concerning for vulnerable groups, including women, children, elderly people and waste pickers who live or work around the dumpsite.
According to Chikomba, the landfill, which was opened in 1994, had exceeded its projected 20 to 25-year lifespan and had become a major waste management challenge for the city.
He said hundreds of informal waste pickers, including women and children, were working at the site without adequate protective clothing, while more than 1 000 people were reportedly living in makeshift structures around the dumpsite.
Chikomba also raised concern over access to clean water, saying residents were relying on an unprotected disused dam for domestic and laundry purposes.
He said smoke from fires at the dumpsite posed a health risk to communities in areas including Cowdray Park, Emakhandeni, Richmond and Luveve, while leachate from the site presented a potential threat to groundwater and nearby water sources.
“Environmental rights are human rights. The Ngozi Dumpsite is no longer just a waste management challenge. It is an environmental justice issue,” Chikomba said.
ZNOART is calling on the Bulawayo City Council to immediately stop open burning, improve landfill management and promote waste separation and recycling at household level.
Chikomba also urged the council to provide clean water bowsers to residents living at the dumpsite and called on the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to enforce environmental laws and conduct an urgent environmental and health impact assessment.
He further called for alternative housing and permanent shelter for informal settlers at the dumpsite, as well as employment opportunities for existing waste pickers through any future investment at the site.
Chikomba said ZNOART supported the use of public-private partnerships in waste management, arguing that modern facilities, including waste-to-energy initiatives, could provide a more sustainable solution to Bulawayo’s waste challenges.
He said residents should be involved in decisions concerning waste management and benefit from employment and other opportunities arising from investment in the sector.
“We cannot achieve sustainable waste management in Bulawayo with a ticking time bomb,” Chikomba said, urging authorities to take urgent action to protect residents’ constitutional right to a safe and healthy environment.