ED to headline Gweru clean-up 

Source: ED to headline Gweru clean-up | The Herald July 4, 2019

Minister Mavima

Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will tomorrow lead the eighth National Environment Cleaning Day in the City of Gweru, as Government intensifies efforts to clean cities in line with aspirations of reforming the country.

On December 5 last year, President Mnangagwa declared the first Friday of every month as a National Environment Cleaning Day, a time when all citizens are supposed to clean-up their surroundings between 8am and 10am.

Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavima confirmed that President Mnangagwa would lead the clean-up at Kudzanayi long distance bus terminus in Gweru.

“The President will be coming this Friday to lead from the front as we clean-up the City of Progress,” he said. “We are looking forward to having His Excellency and as a province we are happy to have him around in this worthy cause since cleanliness is next to Godliness.”

In preparation for the visit by the President, provincial administrator Mr Abiot Maronge held a meeting with Government departments, including officials from Environmental Management Agency (EMA).

“I can say we are set for the clean-up campaign to be headed by President Mnangagwa,” said Mr Maronge. “We met as Government departmental heads to put final touches so that we will have a successful day.

“This is the City of Progress and that progress should start from our homes to the streets through cleanliness.”

Gweru mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe urged residents to come in full force for the clean-up campaign tomorrow.

“Gweru City Council will partner all the stakeholders in the clean-up campaign on the first Friday of each month,” he said. “Gweru City Council has been involved in these clean-ups. Like others that we have done, we will partner him (President Mnangagwa) in the cleaning of our city. I hope more people will participate.”

There are over 3 000 vendors operating at Kudzanayi bus terminus, which is three times its carrying capacity of 1 000 vendors.

This has given rise to the accumulation of litter at the busy terminus.

Some of the vendors were busy yesterday clearing some of the rubbish at the terminus ahead of the President’s visit.

The City of Gweru has of late been struggling to collect refuse due to obsolete refuse collection trucks.

Only two months ago, the city received two refuse collection trucks aimed at improving service delivery.

Last month, Minister Mavima said the National Environment Cleaning Day has been a success in the Midlands province, but is being hindered by lack of service provision by local authorities, resulting in the re-emergence of litter dumps along sanitary lanes, open spaces, storm drains and along highways.

He said the programme, since its inception, had seen over 300 clean-up campaigns being undertaken across the Midlands.

Minister Mavima said Government thus calls upon all citizens to emulate the nation’s leaders and judiciously play their role in the custody chain of solid waste management.

He said the Midlands Province is affected by a number of environmental challenges that include the illegal mining of chrome and gold, leading to water pollution, scarring of the earth, farmer-miner conflicts and many more challenges.