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Chronicle Reporters

THE private sector has heeded calls by President Mnangagwa to take part in the monthly national clean-up campaign, which is helping communities in enhancing a clean environment across the country.

In Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and the Midlands provinces, private sector players yesterday participated in cleaning their workplaces and surrounding areas.

President Mnangagwa declared the first Friday of each month as the National Environment Cleaning Day where all citizens are supposed to clean their surroundings between 8AM and 10AM.

Bulawayo Minister for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Judith Ncube, who led the clean-up in the city’s Magwegwe North shopping centre challenged businesses and communities to ensure that their surroundings are always clean.

“Wherever you are working, make sure that you keep your environments very clean. Let’s not wait for the clean-up. On the first Friday we are cleaning the city together, but we can be cleaning throughout the month,” she told participants who were drawn from across the spectrum.

“Keeping the environment clean is very important and hygienic. One might throw a small piece of paper with a mindset that it won’t have an impact, but if there are a 100 of these, they affect the beauty of the environment.”

Minister Ncube commended the community and others for participating in the clean-up despite the chilly weather.

In the Midlands province, the clean-up campaign was held at Mataga Growth point in Mberengwa led by district development co-ordinator, Mr Vafias Hlabati, who represented the Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Larry Mavima.

Mataga growth point was selected as a model for waste management in rural local authorities during the build up to the Zero Tolerance to litter launch. 

“The local authority also appointed three litter monitors to oversee waste management issues at the growth point and these monitors are still active in waste management,” said Minister Mavima in a speech read on his behalf.

“More so, a draft integrated waste management plan was produced for Mataga Growth Point.”

However, he said the waste management plan has not yet been fully implemented and there is no landfill site. The minister discouraged garbage dumping in undesignated places within the growth point as this pollutes the environment. He urged the business community to come together and form a waste management committee that will oversee waste management issues. 

In Gweru, city council employees and residents cleaned part of Ascot Shopping Centre while the Midlands State University staff and students cleaned the Gweru campus among other companies, which heeded the President’s call to clean their areas.

In Victoria Falls various organisations continued to clean around their premises and around the city. Tourism stakeholders in Victoria Falls came up with the Pristine Victoria Falls Initiative last year where each company adopted a section of the city from the Victoria Falls border area to Victoria Falls Airport to keep the city clean. Staffers from the respective organisations cleaned their sections yesterday. 

Workers from newly opened Engen Garage cleaned a section of Livingstone adjacent to the fuel service station and Sawanga Mall while learners from Fountain College in Aerodrome cleaned behind Cresta Sprayview Hotel up to Livingstone Way. United Children of Africa (Unica) cleaned Hospital Road.

In Hwange, Hwange Colliery Company (HCC) led the clean-up, which also had the EMA, Green Shango Environment Trust, Government departments and other stakeholders. 

They started cleaning at Number 1 bus terminus into Lwendulu suburb and along the road towards the truck stop. 

The area is usually affected by flooding, which has been blamed on blocking storm water drains by garbage.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and other stakeholders cleaned around the Hwange Magistrates’ Courts and Compensation House.