By Perpetua Murungweni
Masvingo City Council has failed to deliver on its promises to decommission the Runyararo West dumpsite and move to the new Cambria Farm Landfill despite the health and environmental risks that the old dumpsite is posing to residents who live close to the dumpsite.
Residents in Runyararo West and Victoria Ranch might have to endure another three or four months of air pollution as the local authority is still unsure of when the dumpsite will be decommissioned, citing lack of funding to procure equipment for the new dumpsite.
Residents raised concern over the dumpsite in an engagement meeting between residents and councillors organised by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) recently.
Masvingo City Mayor Alec Tabe told TellZim News that plans to improve the new dumpsite and relocate were underway and they were expecting to start using the landfill by the end of this year.
“Council has already completed the drafting of a decommissioning plan, a document that elaborates on the current situation of the Runyararo West dumpsite and relocation to the new landfill is earmarked for any month in the fourth quarter.
“The relocation is necessary because we have heard the plea of residents in Runyararo West and Victoria Ranch who have undergone immense suffering due to uncontrolled fires that occur at the dumpsite.
“Council is working frantically to move to the landfill as soon as possible. The plans are that we will be using the sanitary landfill by latest end of December 2024,” said Tabe.
Tabe said council was waiting for funding to complete the project and had since applied for borrowing powers from the Ministry.
“The landfill has been completed and related structural works have been completed, the major outstanding items include the sanitary landfill compactor. Council has not yet secured funding from Steward Bank to facilitate procurement of the landfill compactor; financing of the landfill shall be through a local bank.
“Council has also applied for borrowing powers from the Ministry and we are waiting for the borrowing certificate,” said Tabe.
According to a recent ZHRC report, council was violating environmental human rights and the right to administrative justice, years after the old dumpsite became cause for concern.
In the ZHRC report, Masvingo City Council Public Relations Officer Ashley Jinjika highlighted that council was still using Runyararo dumpsite because the construction process of the new landfill was hindered by lack of funding.
“The first cell of the landfill was completed and was supposed to be commissioned in February last year. However the whole construction process was hindered by lack of funding hence council was still using the Runyararo West dumpsite awaiting the construction of the landfill to be finalized,” Jinjika was quoted in the report.
Masvingo City Council secured 10 hectares of land on Cambria Farm which is on the western outskirts of the city for the establishment of the new landfill in 2019 and was set to move there by the end of October the same year.
In October 2022, Acting City Engineer Kudzaishe Mbetu, said council was only left with construction of the site offices which was already underway. He was quoted saying council was going to start using the landfill at the end of the same month, adding that three boreholes had been drilled but only the control borehole had been equipped.
Masvingo City Council in June 2023 invited Vice President Kembo Mohadi to officially open the landfill despite it not being functional until now.
A research conducted by this publication indicated that Masvingo City has approximately 16 655 housing units that pay monthly rates. From the 16 655 housing units Masvingo City Council charges US $8.72 for refuse collection per housing unit per month and is getting about US $ 145 231.00 every month which translates to about US$1 742 779.2 million.
This year’s refuse collection tariffs increased with 50 cents from US $ 8.25 last year to US $ 8.75 this year, all this in light of council’s failure to complete the landfill project due to lack of funding.
