Bulawayo City Council (BCC) on Monday unveiled the 20 pink bins donated last month by Sexual Rights Centre (SRC), an organisation providing technical and moral support for gays, lesbians and sex workers.
The donation sparked outrage with residents and civic organisations describing the gift as culturally improper.
Speaking at the handover ceremony last month, Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo argued the local authority welcomed the donation regardless of where it came from. Moyo yesterday said:
“The bins are there to keep the city clean and they have never been an issue to BCC ever since we received them. We just placed them to reduce littering.”
He argued delays in placing the bins were due to logistical reasons.
“We were meant to identify strategic areas where bins are needed the most first and this took some time. Anyone who dares to damage the bins will be regarded as a criminal and will face the wrath of the law as this is now council property.”
The bins which were donated barely a week before the Zanu PF national conference in Bulawayo raised speculation the local authority had delayed their use to avoid a backlash from President Robert Mugabe, who is on record describing gays and lesbians as “worse than dogs and pigs”.
“Council does not discuss politics when making decisions. I can tell you this had nothing to do with politics,” said Moyo.
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“If we feared the reaction of the President, why would I have received the donation days before the conference?”
SRC spokesperson Mojalifa Mokoele said: “We as SRC are happy that the bins we donated to BCC are being used because we also want to keep the city clean.”
