THE Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has launched an anti-litter campaign in Harare, prosecuting 362 offenders since July and vowing to maintain the city’s cleanliness beyond the upcoming Sadc summit.
Zimbabwe is hosting the Sadc Heads of State and Government Summit in Mt Hampden, Harare tomorrow, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa taking over the chairmanship of the regional body during the summit.
Speaking during a clean-up campaign in the capital this week, EMA Harare provincial manager Leo Mutungamiri said the agency wanted to welcome visitors with a zero litter central business district (CBD).
“We are just ready in practice for the Sadc summit and we put anti-litter synergies in place such as bins at all the intersections in the CBD and all the streets,” he said.
“So (we want) to maintain our city’s cleanliness right from the airport straight to the New Parliament Building as well as the hotspot areas along Old Mazowe Road and Bulawayo Road.”
Mutungamiri said the agency collaborated with different stakeholders in making the city clean.
“We have started an anti-litter campaign and are more than ready in preparation for the Sadc summit. Engaging with volunteers in making an anti-litter campaign and divide the city into 10 quadrants, so they will be picking litter and the refuse will be taken to Pomona dumpsite,” he said.
Mutungamiri said those found littering in designated areas would be prosecuted and promised to continue enforcing litter laws after the Sadc summit.
- Veld fire management strategies for 2022
- Stop harassing media for reporting truth
- Feature: Insects, a cheap and sustainable protein alternative for stockfeeds
- Bulawayo City win basement battle
Keep Reading
“Offenders caught littering in designated areas will be prosecuted, facing fines ranging from US$30 to US$100, categorised into level one to level three.
“We are committed to making the city clean even after the Sadc summit and promising to continue doing the anti-litter campaign. It’s our motto to maintain a zero litter tolerance stance,” he said.
Mutungamiri said the campaign included initiatives to promote recycling, with a focus on encouraging people to separate their waste at source.
He urged residents to practise litter separation by using coloured bins.
“We are encouraging people to adopt the three Rs reduce, recycle and reuse. For example, in order to keep our environment clean, we should not throw away bottles after drinking our drink, but rather keep using them and also the plastic can be recycled to produce bags and pipes,” he said
“You should be able to separate waste by using bins, such as the red bin for glass, the green bin for plastics, the blue bin for cans and the black bin for general waste.”
