By Daniel Chigundu
ENVIRONMENT, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira has applauded Prophetic and Healing Deliverance Ministries (PHD) for cleaning up the streets of Harare adding that a clean environment works well for tourism.
Most cities in Zimbabwe have largely been dirty due litter which is thrown around by people and uncollected garbage in both the central business district and residential suburbs.
However, speaking on the sidelines of the clean-up campaign which was held to commemorate PHD Ministries 5th anniversary, Minister Mupfumira said everyone has a role to play in ensuring that cities are clean.
“Our participation in this clean-up exercise today is a fulfilment of this constitution provision (Section 73). Furthermore, a clean environment attracts to tourists and helps enhance brand Zimbabwe,” she said.
A dirty environment normally attracts such diseases as typhoid and cholera which affected the hosting of the 2018 edition of Harare International Carnival which could have earned the country revenue through tourism receipts and other services.
Minister Mupfumira added that “It is quite humbling for me to stand before such a huge crowd as we witness yet another timely intervention by PHD Ministries making its contribution to the cleanliness of the environment.
“The responsibility for a clean, safe and healthy environment is for all of us. Today we are witnessing PHD Ministries translating their faith into deeds. Stakeholder participation in environmental management is surely the cornerstone of sustainability,” she said.
The PHD Ministries clean-up campaign comes just a few days after Minister Mupfumira met with UN Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli where they talked about the need for a clean environment and sustainable development.
After the meeting Minister Mupfumira said “we were talking about wildlife and people, we were talking about the clean cities and we rely on their expertise and I am sure we will get somewhere with them,” she said.
The UN Resident Coordinator said “…One good part of our conversation was how we can promote the environment, how do we promote biodiversity how do we promote wildlife and at the same time increase livelihood and job opportunities and to really enhance tourism in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister Mupfumira has revealed that her ministry working to ensure polluters and people who dump garbage at undesignated sites are prosecuted.
“My Ministry is ready to ensure polluters of the environment through littering and dumping are prosecuted while promoting sustainable waste management practices.
“Ladies and gentlemen, achieving sustainable waste management require attitude change. As a Ministry, we are encouraging the adoption of sustainable waste management practices without exception.
“Waste separation at source should be the norm and the new way of doing business by all waste generators. Through waste separation it’s easy to promote waste recycling,” she said.
Waste separation is not a thing in Harare, as a few years ago some residents tried to separate their waste but their efforts went to waste as Harare City Council garbage collectors would still mix it when they come for collection.
For waste separation to be effective, there is supposed to be different trucks designated to collect the separated garbage so that they do not mix it, however, this is not possible in Harare as the city does not have enough trucks to service all the 46 wards at the moment.
The other challenge is that there are no resources to give residents about three separate bins required for the exercise to be effective as the city council is financially hamstrung.
