Harare disappoints EMA

 

THE Environmental Management Agency (EMA) says city councils, especially the City of Harare, are not doing enough to manage solid waste.

Statistics show that of all the 57 orders issued by EMA in 2013, 43 of them were issued to Harare City council.

Orders are legally binding documents ordering a city council to clear rubbish in undesignated areas.

Despite the 43 orders, a media tour organised by EMA around Harare’s high density suburbs especially Budiriro and Highfield 3, exposed heaps of rubbish dating back to June 2013 that remain uncollected.

Vendors at Tichagarika Shopping Centre in Highfield 3 said city officials have told them on countless occasions that they have no fuel to collect the accumulating rubbish. 

The media recently exposed the hefty salaries earned by high ranking Harare City Council officials at the expense of service delivery, which has nose dived since the introduction of multiple currencies in February 2009.

Harare City Council is on record saying they have no money and equipment to effectively clear rubbish and provide adequate water to residents alleging non-payment of rates.

EMA’s environmental education and publicity manager Steady Kangata told the media during the tour that Harare and other city councils have let his organisation down by failing to effectively deal with rubbish.

“…in city centres there is no proper solid waste management and in residential areas. We are exposing people to diseases caused by rubbish.

“But our biggest challenge and let down are local authorities; imagine that people at times put litter in bins and they get filled but no one gets to empty them timeously.

“Harare has failed to sustain clearing of rubbish despite the Orders we issued to them. What is happening is that they clear one spot and as they move to other spots, heaps of rubbish start to accumulate where they would have cleared because they take long to do it.

“The situation is not exclusive to Harare but even other cities are failing,” said Kangata.

He also took a swipe at litter bugs especially those that throw litter from their vehicles saying they risk being arrested.

He added that his organisation is working with the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Harare Municipal Police to bring litter bugs to book.

Last year, the agency said about 703 litter bugs was arrested and of that number 203 were people who throw litter from their vehicles, especially those with posh vehicles while 500 were pedestrians.