A HEALTH hazard is looming in Harare as 18 out of the 46 refuse collection trucks are reportedly grounded due to mechanical faults.
BY MOSES MATENGA
This has resulted in garbage piling up in most residential areas.
A survey by NewsDay in several of Harare’s suburbs revealed that residents have created their own illegal dumpsites, as garbage has not been collected for a long time.
A team has since been set by the Harare City Council’s environmental management committee to urgently look into the matter, amid reports that the council rationalisation programme affected operations, as some qualified personnel and experienced drivers left the local authority.
Committee chairperson, Herbert Gomba, said the matter should be looked into as a matter of urgency.
It emerged that in areas such as Westgate, Marlborough, Goodhope, Mt Pleasant, Mabelreign and several other suburbs, residents were dumping garbage close to houses and on yet-to-be developed stands.
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The situation, according to Gomba was worse in high density suburbs such as Glen Norah, Glen View, Warren Park, Waterfalls Mabvuku, Kambuzuma, Budiriro and others.
Harare is pushing for companies which generate more waste such as the food and beverage industry and retailers who sell pampers to assist in the removal of refuse.
“We set up a team to assess how we can revamp our mechanical workshops to repair the broken down refuse trucks. The rationalisation process affected critical staff like machinists and superintendents. It is taking almost two months for a requisition for the buying of a spare part to be processed and that is a big challenge,” Gomba said.
“We are even questioning the competence of some of the new drivers, whether they are handling these vehicles with care.” He said several other service vehicles were affected at the council workshops.
