By Watmore Makokoba
Mvurwi Town Council has made tremendous strides in winning the war that had given several town councils nightmares. The war on waste management courtesy of 53 grannies who have volunteered to sweep the city and monitor littering .Today Mvurwi stands outshining other even bigger local councils who are still struggling to deal with this waste management crisis.
The grannies, popularly known as the “sweet sixteens” in the area have not only become handy in making the town sparkle, but are also an environmental watchdog against littering by helping in policing ,conscientising and supervising residents in responsible litter disposal and management.
The council works “hand-in-glove” with the grannies who sweep the market places and the central business district (CBD) among other sections of the town on a weekly basis. The participation of these old women aged between 45 and 65 has significantly complimented the council’s anti-litter and waste management efforts.
Gogo Mutero, aged 52 says she felt it was appropriate to volunteer her services to the betterment of the town and joined the “sweet sixteen group” in the year 2013, up to date she has an unwavering commitment to seeing Mvurwi streets free from liter.
“As elders of the town, I feel it’s our mandate to show the youngsters how to be responsible in keeping our surroundings clean so that they follow, we are grateful to the council’s appreciation to our efforts, we thank the Town Council Chairperson Mr. Vincent Murengwa for the grocery hampers incentives that have kept us afloat .We pledge around unwavering support to the waste management initiatives, she said”, she said
The council has constructed 17 communal bins across sections of the town’s high density areas where residence empty their rubbish into. The bins are then collected every week, keeping the residence free from litter. The timely collection of litter from the residence has spared the town from all major disease outbreaks that had bewildered the country in the past.
“To supplement the wonderful work being done by our overcommitted grannies and staff, we went on to fabricate other 5 more medium size steel bins. Council also provided 25 small bins while Farm & City Centre donated 10 more. The bins were placed in front of shops within the CBD and on the market squire as well” said the Town Council Chairperson Mr Murengwa.
A leaf worth taking by other local authorities in their quest to curb littering and waste management is the holistic approach of involving the residents and the corporate world in cleaning, litter control, anti-littering campaigns and complimenting by availing waste bins in convenient places.
In trying to reduce the distance travelled with litter in hands, the Mvurwi council also introduced portable small bins along the main roads, furthermore black plastic bins have been supplied to high and medium density residents while low density residents purchase their own refuse bins.
Mr Mapako of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) applauded Mvurwi Town Council for its outstanding and evident efforts in waste and environmental management.
“We would like to applaud the Mvurwi Town Council in their outstanding work in waste management; this has contributed significantly to the sustainable well keeping of the environment and disease control. We expect other town councils to follow such a noble effort”, said Mr. Mapako.
