Bulawayo City Council Launches Another City Center Clean-Up Campaign

January 17, 2023
More join in Bulawayo clean up | Report Focus News
More join in Bulawayo clean up

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe – The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) will this week embark on yet another city center clean-up campaign, as the local authority continues to struggle with collecting garbage.

The clean-up exercise, which will be done in partnership with the Office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and the Environmental Management Agency, will run from Wednesday to Friday from 12 pm to 6 pm.

“The aim is to reduce the risk of waste-related disease outbreaks that can affect all areas in the city due to the centrality of the CBD,” said the council in a statement. “This can be further angered should rains come before the waste has been cleared as the waste will be washed into storm drains and blocked storm drains give rise to flash flooding and increase breeding of mosquitoes and spread of disease.”

A similar campaign was held in September of last year, but uncollected garbage returned shortly after. The council, which is also facing resource constraints, also launched a system to collect refuse at night, but it did not yield the desired results.

Recently, Bulawayo’s health services director, Dr. Edwin Sibanda, was suspended for alleged incompetence over uncollected garbage in the city center.

The BCC’s efforts to rid the city center of illegal informal traders, who are often blamed for breaking council by-laws, were blocked by the government last week.

This campaign highlights the ongoing struggles of the BCC to maintain a clean and safe environment in the city center, and the importance of effective waste management in preventing disease outbreaks.