First Lady leads clean-up exercise in central Harare
. . . Ministers’ spouses join campaign
STREETS, buildings and bus ranks in Harare’s central business district (CBD) were yesterday left sparkling clean and with a breath of fresh air, thanks to environment patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa who joined hands and led spouses of Government Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in cleaning the areas as part of the zero waste movement.
Church members, female councillors, tertiary students and recycling groups were also part of yesterday’s programme as they supported Amai Mnangagwa’s vision to give the capital city the ambience it deserves.
Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant-General Anselem Sanyatwe was present to support the First Lady’s noble initiative in his capacity as the spouse of Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Chido Sanyatwe.
Participants were left with an overwhelming feeling that initiatives such as the one led by the First Lady would go a long way in curbing cholera.
Dr Mnangagwa is a signatory to the Global Zero Waste Goodwill Declaration to implement sustainable waste management and share best practices for its wider recognition and implementation.
Signatories to the declaration pledged to support initiatives, campaigns, programmes, projects and activities that promote zero waste to encourage responsible waste production and consumption.
There were various groups during the clean-up, including the one led by the First Lady, which covered various parts of the city culminating in the launch of a litter sorting cage in the historic Africa Unity Square.
The First Lady cleaned highly populated areas and shopping complexes where it emerged that people throw litter everywhere, including through the windows of buses and kombis.
Dr Mnangagwa’s first port of call was Market Square in downtown Harare where she rallied shop operators, including those around the Gulf complex to join her in the clean-up.
They gladly responded to the First Lady’s plea and joined her in cleaning their shops and surrounding areas.
She proceeded to the bus terminus where she implored drivers and conductors to ensure the environment was always clean and to have bins in their buses and kombis. They also joined her in cleaning the rank and around the Kopje police post in the area before proceeding to shops along Harare Street.
Shoppers were left in awe seeing the First Lady and her team cleaning pavements along Kaguvi Street where she enjoined everyone, including shop operators to keep the environment clean in the wake of a cholera outbreak, prompting shop operators to follow suit and place their litter in provided bins.
So much dirt was wiped out, showing that indeed not much was being done to clean up the environment, hence the First Lady’s intervention.
The First Lady, who celebrated her birthday on Sunday, was treated to a surprise birthday song by saxophonist Denilson Musekiwa.
In her remarks, Dr Mnangagwa paid tribute to all women who were part of the programme yesterday.
She also handed over branded bins to the Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province Charles Tawengwa for onward distribution to Government complexes.
“Special recognition to all women here present. Today has been our working meeting for us as women. I have called you so that we see the outlook of our home, which is not what we anticipate our home to be like.
“The spouses of our ministers, deputy ministers and permanent secretaries who are with us today, women from churches, all women across the board and everyone who participated, thank you for accepting my invitation.
“Thank you for coming and commit- ting yourselves towards the implemen- tation of the zero-waste movement in our beautiful Zimbabwe. It is my singu- lar honour to be with you here in Harare CBD as we embark on an environmental journey under the zero waste movement,” she said.
As the environment patron, Dr Mnangagwa said she was excited about what she believed could take the country forward as far as waste management was concerned.
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