Will Harare ever retain its sunshine status?
It can not be disputed that years ago, Harare was the sunshine city and indeed the name matched with the high standard of cleanliness and order in the city.
BUT as years went by, and with the coming in of MDC- Alliance led councils, the sunshine city started to fade away as the once magnificent capital continues to lose its glory with each passing day.
The moment one sets foot in Harare’s Central Business District ( CBD), he or she is welcomed by vendors who have spread their wares on street pavements and in front of shops.
Litter from vegetables and other wares they sell is strewn all over the streets, especially in the morning and evenings.
Also on Harare’s pavements, street children beg for money, there are long- winding queues at bus terminuses and hoards of people doing their dayto- day business.
Litter and dump- sites, which have become one of the main characteristics of the city, cannot go unmentioned.
Residents can no longer bear the stench of uncollected refuse and are beginning to speak out.
In an interview, Tatenda Chivese, a resident from Kuwadzana reiterated that the whole problem lies with the city council which is failing to do its job properly.
“The problem is with the city fathers. They are neglecting the issue of the health which is of concern to the well- being for the citizens,” he said.
“The mounds of rubbish are very dangerous to the society as they are found both in the CBD and residential areas. They are the hot spots for diseases such as cholera and malaria.
“The sites have now become breeding places for mosquitoes, hence disease such as malaria are prevalent,” he said.
Chivese added that there was nothing good that the council had done since coming into office.
He summed up that in some residential areas, council was failing to collect refuse consistently, forcing residents to dispose litter in open spaces.
One resident from Warren Park who requested anonymity said the council has failed dismally to address the issue of refuse collection in both the CBD and residential areas.
“For instance, at Copacabana bus ter
minus, heaps of uncollected refuse will be beside the entrance of the toilet and the road to such an extent that the litter blocks the road is impassable.
To make matters worse, there is a fresh produce market nearby where people buy fruits and vegetables.
Anyone who wants to dump litter will just do it by the toilet entrance.
The litter ranges from plastic containers, cans, maize meal cobs, cardboard boxes and anything one can think of.
The litter goes for a week or so without being collected and in such a scenario, it is unavoidable to transmit diseases.
“The council should put adequate bins around the city centre and collect refuse regularly, especially with this rainy season we are in,” said the resident.
She added that since the country is grappling with the Covid- 19 pandemic, the council should address the matter
urgently to minimise the spread of cholera and malaria.
This view of providing adequate refuse bins was also echoed by Tawanda Maphosa from Mabvuku.
“The City of Harare is dirty as a result of the dump- sites and litter everywhere. City fathers should put adequate bins around the town and the residential areas,” said Maphosa.
He added: “As a result of having no adequate bins, people end up throwing litter everywhere. So there is need for the council to put bins around the town.
In addition to providing adequate bins, there is need for stiffer penalties to discourage littering as there are people who just throw litter everywhere and are ignorant of health concerns,” he said.
Maphosa highlighted that from the way things stand, it seems the council does not have any by- laws on littering,
or if the laws are there, they are not being enforced.
He added that if the laws are there, they need to be tightened and stiffer penalties imposed on the culprits.
He also urged the city council to be serious in addressing the issue.
But, many questions continue to linger in the minds of residents.
Where are the city fathers? Are they unaware of what is taking place and what steps are they taking?
Maladministration has clearly led to what is taking place in Harare.
Council has failed to educate residents on sustainable ways of disposing refuse.
Instead, council is losing billions of money which they can put to good use by recycling the litter.
Why can they not put different bins for example one for paper, another for plastics and one for bottles and cans?