Tinaani Nyabereka
Gweru City Council says it has become the second urban local authority in the country to have a sustainable waste management plan after Kariba, with efforts to deal with solid waste management challenges being intensified.
Speaking to TellZim News after a waste management workshop recently, deputy mayor Cleopas Shiri said council had used the platform to urge stakeholders to play their part towards environmental cleanliness.
“We have engaged stakeholders so that we help each other to deal with management of waste in our city. We have talked to community-based organisations and such companies as Chicken Inn, Bata and Duly’s as well as various churches to do regular clean-ups and make sure their surroundings have as many bins as possible.
“We have also talked to institutions such as MSU, Gweru Poly and Mkoba Teachers’ College to join ward clean-up campaigns and partner community leaders in efforts to make our environment cleaner. It is the duty of all residents to make this city clean and more enjoyable,” said Shiri.
He said council looked forward to engaging schools under the concept ‘catching them young and watch them grow’, saying schools had a bigger role to play in nurturing children with a greater sense of responsibility to their surroundings.
“We want to incorporate schools under the catch them young and watch them grow concept because we believe for children be better citizens, it begins at school where they spend most of their time. We want our children to grow knowing the dangers of disposing waste everywhere,” he said.
Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) president Cornilia Selipiwe said residents applauded council for including them in critical programmes including consultations for the 2019 budget.
“As residents, we would like to applaud council for being more consultative. Residents know what they want and as long as the engagement is based on mutual respect, there will be progress.
“We have since embarked on a ‘demonstration through paying’ campaign by which we encourage citizens to go pay their rates because we know every local authority needs money to operate efficiently. We are therefore playing our part to bring back the seemingly long-lost culture of paying rates timely and in full,” said Selipiwe.
