Suburban
The City of Harare has of late received a total of $838 million for the refurbishment of waste management equipment and repair of roads from central Government.
This is nearly a billion dollars in local currency, which we hope if put to good use should make some strides in reviving services in the capital city.
By chipping in with such funding, the Government has shown its commitment to assisting the municipality and we trust the City of Harare will reciprocate by getting things done and improving refuse collection and making our roads trafficable.
Under the refurbishment of the waste management equipment, a landfill compactor, a landfill dozer, an excavator, a front end loader, 10 refuse trucks, three tipper trucks and 20 skip bins are due for renovation. We understand Government has also released funding to enable the City of Harare to take delivery of 15 refuse trucks held at the border for the past five years over customs duty issues.
Acting Harare Mayor Stewart Musarurwa Mutizwa said the municipality expects to take delivery of the refuse trucks in a few weeks’ time following the central Government’s intervention. The Mayor gave a timeframe of three weeks to be precise and we hope in a month’s time we will be noticing some improvement in refuse collection, one of the major service delivery functions the municipality has been terribly with.
Councillor Mutizwa has also gone a step further by appealing to corporates and residents to chip in and assist the council to clear mounds of garbage strewn all over the capital city from residential areas, business premises, shopping centres, open spaces and public spaces.
The Mayor requests those who can help with equipment such as trucks, dumpers, front-end loaders, dozers, tractors mounted with trailers and compactors to chip in and help the municipality clear the numerous illegal dumpsites in the city.
His idea is that once these illegal dumpsites have been cleared, the council will then move, by which time the local authority hopes to have finished refurbishing its waste collection equipment and taken delivery of the 15 new refuse compactors, into the residential areas and clear the garbage backlog.
Following Councillor Mutizwa’s appeal, we are encouraged that some residents are already taking the lead in campaigning for ratepayers to assist where they can and help the city to deliver services.
Once again the most outstanding residents’ association in Harare, the Borrowdale Residents and Ratepayers Association is already showing leadership in this regard by urging residents and corporates to take charge of their affairs.
According to the BRRA, in wake of the many challenges the City of Harare is facing, stakeholders should take the lead instead of expending time analysing the causes of the problems.
BRRA chairperson Mr Robert Mutyasira believes participating in community initiatives and filling in where council is found wanting will go some way in ensuring residents and ratepayers enjoy the services they desire.
