BULAWAYO deputy mayor Edwin Ndlovu has urged waste pickers to formalise their cooperatives to gain recognition during policy formulation by the local authority.
Ndlovu said this would make it easy for the local authority to engage them formally on matters that affect them.
“We have heard what challenges they face since the Zimbabwean economy is now informal,” Ndlovu said.
“Therefore, as the city council we appreciate what they are doing but what they have to do is to formalise their operations.
“We respect waste pickers because they also assist in keeping the city clean.”
Last year, the Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) called on Bulawayo city fathers to craft policies that serve the interests of waste pickers.
The MIHR also launched a project called Bulawayo Women’s Waste Café Project to develop a pilot gender responsive human rights-based approach to the protection and promotion of women and girl waste pickers in the country.
A group of 236 female waste pickers later petitioned the city council demanding an amendment of its refuse removal by-laws, which do not recognize their services.
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