Garbage deal to cost Harare US$9,5 million
THE City of Harare will fork out almost US$9,5 million in annual garbage collection fees if an exclusive deal still under discussion with Geo Pomona Waste Management Private Limited is consummated, the Zimbabwe Independent was told this week.
In an exclusive interview, Geo Pomona Waste Management Pvt Ltd CEO and executive chairperson Dilesh Nguwaya said according to the terms of the transaction, which were exclusively reported by the Independent last week, his firm will be collecting 650 tonnes of waste at a cost of US$40 per tonne daily.
Geo Pomona Waste Management’s plan is to get rid of waste, which has been blamed for deadly epidemic outbreaks, like cholera and typhoid, in Harare in the past few years.
The waste will be used for electricity generation for the national grid, according to Nguwaya.
“The City of Harare committed to deliver a minimum of 650 tonnes per day at US$40 per tonne,” Nguwaya said this week.
“They have been found wanting in respect of waste collection and delivery. This is the basis of the proposal we are currently discussing,” he added.
Nguwaya explained that the charges set out and agreed to by the City of Harare in the Joint Venture Concession Agreement were “fairly cheaper” than those charged in Europe.
“You will be aware that the standards at Pomona are in line with modern European trends in waste management. Below, we put the figures charged per tonne; Austria (US$166), Belgium (US$112), Denmark (US$114), Finland (US$116), France (US$95), Ireland (US$154), Italy (US$127), and the United Kingdom (US$135),” he said.
Harare mayor Jacob Mafume and top council officials were recently summoned to the Ministry of Local Government and told to relinquish refuse collection to Geo Pomona from next month.
The negotiations come two years after the government handed over managing rights of the capital’s main dumpsite in Pomona, Harare, for 30 years to Netherlandsbased Geogenix BV fronted by Nguwaya.
The transaction between Geoginx BV, which runs Geo Pomona, and government, has over the years triggered a fierce tussle between government and the City of Harare.
Calculations by the Independent showed that the 650 tonnes of daily waste translate to US$26 000 per day, and US$9,49 million annually.
These are some of the terms of the US$310 million investment deal Geo Pomona agreed with City of Harare in 2019 to transform the Pomona dumpsite.
Between 16 megawatts (MW) and 20MW will be generated and fed into the national grid from the waste-to-energy plant.
Nguwaya said discussions with the City of Harare, which has been struggling to collect waste in the capital, were still underway.
With garbage being a core raw material required to set up the power generation plant, Nguwaya added that Geo Pomona Waste Management would require 1 000 tonnes of waste to generate electricity.
Several other companies have also commenced small scale power generation at their operations for internal consumption, with surplus being directed to the national grid.
Last week, Gloria Magombo, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, said small scale power projects like these would be vital to help Zimbabwe deal with power deficits.
Power generation has mainly been affected by droughts, especially at the hydro power station in Kariba. Zimbabwe requires an estimated 4 000MW to power its industries and for domestic use per day.
However, as a result of limited generating capacity, the southern African country bridges its deficit through imports.
“We plan to incinerate 1 000 tonnes per day of solid municipal waste to produce 16MW to 22MW of electricity, which will be fed to the national grid for the benefit of the country,” Nguwaya said.
“This is a sustainable way of managing waste and reducing the waste that goes to landfills. Previously, the (Pomona) site lacked proper access due to overflowing waste.”
The investment project has triggered fears that City of Harare workers under its public works department may lose jobs when Geo Pomona Waste Management starts to collect garbage.
However, Nguwaya allayed those fears, indicating that the scope of the project entailed retaining jobs.
“These are some of the issues that are under discussion. We do not believe in exclusionary business practices. The plan is to employ the City of Harare workers, who might be directly affected,” Nguwaya explained.
The decision to pave the way for Geo
Pomana Waste Management to start collecting garbage was based on the failure by Harare to effectively collect waste in most parts of the capital, forcing some residents to engage private garbage collectors at monthly costs of around US$90 per household.
In Harare, areas like the central business district suffer from chronic litter and neglect, with piles of refuse accumulating unchecked for extended periods.
Apart from Harare, other local authorities in Zimbabwe have been battling to come up with a lasting solution to address the eyesore problem of garbage.
Read full interview on Page 6