Kadoma City Council officials last week visited the Geo Pomona Waste Management facility in Harare to benchmark against Zimbabwe’s most ambitious public-private sanitation project, as it moves to tackle mounting waste management challenges.
The visit offered Kadoma officials a first-hand look at how the former Pomona dumpsite was transformed into a modern, integrated waste management complex, complete with a sorting plant, engineered landfill, and leachate treatment system.
With limited equipment and overstretched collection fleets at home, the delegation is exploring how similar public-private partnerships could turn waste into a resource, improve service delivery, and even generate electricity—demonstrating a model for environmentally sustainable and economically viable urban sanitation.
The tour, which took place on Tuesday, saw council officials and town planners witness the transformation of the site and engage with Geo Pomona leadership on best practices. The visit underscores a growing trend among local authorities, following similar benchmarking tours by Bindura and ongoing engagements with Victoria Falls and Mutare.
The Kadoma team was taken through the newly commissioned sorting plant, the engineered landfill, and the leachate treatment system—infrastructure that has effectively rehabilitated what was once a chronic environmental hazard in the capital.
Speaking during the tour, Geo Pomona executive chairperson and chief executive officer, Dilesh Nguwaya, welcomed the delegation and reiterated his call for a national overhaul of waste management practices.
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“We aim to have all cities in Zimbabwe adopt a waste management process similar to the sorting plants implemented in Harare,” Nguwaya said.
He emphasised that the model is not exclusive to the capital, pointing to the company’s readiness to partner with municipalities under the government’s public-private partnership framework.
For Kadoma, a city grappling with limited equipment and overstretched collection fleets, the tour offered a glimpse of a potential solution.
The officials paid particular attention to the waste-to-energy component, which is expected to generate 22 megawatts of electricity for the national grid upon completion, and the high-tech systems that prevent environmental contamination.
“This is about turning a burden into a resource. We are demonstrating that with the right vision and investment, waste can be a valuable commodity that creates employment and protects the environment,” Nguwaya added.
The visit comes on the heels of a directive from the Ministry of Local Government encouraging all local authorities to explore partnerships with private players to improve service delivery.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who commissioned the Geo Pomona plant in June 2025, has consistently urged local authorities to emulate the initiative, stating that “cleanliness and efficient service delivery are essential benchmarks for a nation’s competitiveness.”
The Kadoma Municipality is expected to compile a report on the tour, which could pave the way for a formal partnership with Geo Pomona.
Should a deal materialise, it would mark a significant policy shift for the city, transitioning from traditional waste disposal to a model that treats waste as an economic resource.