Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, Savior Kasukuwere has given the under-fire City of Harare management a 24 hour ultimatum to clean up garbage including used condoms piling at undesignated dumping sites across the city.
By Jeoffrey Ncube
Addressing City of Harare officials at a Harare road rehabilitation tour on Monday, Kasukuwere called for the removal of all garbage from undesignated dumpsites saying the piling of uncollected litter is becoming health hazard to citizens.
“You say you are the councilors while you live in dirty areas like this? most painful thing is you used about US$2 million supporting soccer, assuming you were just putting aside US$50 000 you should have made a progress here.
“You are the ones in charge and don’t blame anyone for this, take a look at those bottles and used condoms and everything here and this is in the ward of the chairman of the environment committee, what are you doing?” said Kasukuwere.
Responding to Kasukuwere, Acting Town Clerk, Josephine Ncube cited resource constraints saying when the City was efficiently managing its refuse collection duties, it was hiring equipment from other companies.
“Honorable Minister, indeed previously we managed because we depended on hiring the equipment and now we are in the process of buying our own assets so that we don’t have to rely on hiring and we are promising that this Chitubu site will be cleaned by Friday,” said Ncube.
However, Kasukuwere rejected Ncube’s Friday target deadline, ordering action within 24 hours.
“Friday is too far since today is Monday, l want to see all this rubbish gone and l am going to make a follow up,” said Kasukuwere.
Harare has been battling with uncollected garbage with service delivery currently at its lowest amid concerns that City of Harare is collecting less than half of what it is billing residents per month.
Early this year, Harare recorded isolated cases of typhoid recording two deaths, 126 suspected and 12 confirmed cases of the waterborne disease.
