Bulawayo, (New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council has been directed to urgently engage Geo Pomona Waste Management company to address the pollution and health risks that the Richmond Landfill, popularly known as Ngozi Mine, poses to residents of nearby areas.
Richmond Landfill, which is near Cowdray Park high density suburb, was commissioned in 1994 and is the 12th refuse-disposal site in the city.
Before then, Bulawayo used several disposal sites, including the area now occupied by Sobukazi School grounds between 1963 and 1970, and later Hyde Park near Pelandaba Cemetery.
According to the city council, the landfill had initially been projected to operate for about 20 years, but has continued beyond that lifespan.
Lack of funding and equipment has hampered the ability of the council to properly manage the landfill, resulting in recurring fires, smoke, fly infestations and methane emissions that pose serious health risks to residents living nearby.
Addressing a stakeholders engagement meeting in the city on Thursday, Local government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said he had been sent by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to ensure immediate solutions are found to address issues at Ngozi Mine.
He stressed that the Ngozi Mine situation had become a matter of national concern, with the President demanding decisive intervention to protect residents and restore the city environment.
“We came here with clear instructions from my principal that the Ngozi Mine situation is now of great concern to the President, and solutions must be provided now. Solutions will not come from Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), but us and ZIDA will provide advice to what we want to achieve. We will not be bogged down by ZIDA, we have demanded that the feasibility study be carried out for us to be able to go ahead and engage either Geo Pomona or whoever, in this case its Geo Pomona,” he said.
The directive comes amid mounting health complaints from residents, particularly in Cowdray Park, Emakhandeni and Luveve who have for years endured smoke and foul-smelling fumes from fires at the waste landfill.
Residents have complained of struggling to breathe when smoke settles over the suburb, with some saying the fumes have affected children and elderly people.
In some cases, families have had to temporarily move relatives suffering from respiratory problems to other suburbs when the smoke becomes severe.
Garwe noted that the site was polluting the air and posed serious health risks to residents of the city, adding that the matter could not be allowed to drag on through prolonged consultations and feasibility studies.
“The objective is to ensure that Ngozi Mine will not continue to pollute the city of Bulawayo. We engage professional companies that can come and tame Ngozi Mine without any further delays,” he said.
He said the government intended to replicate in Bulawayo the waste collection and waste management model implemented in Harare, where Geo Pomona has been involved in transforming former waste-disposal sites into facilities with value-added services.
Garwe noted that the project at Pomona in Harare had demonstrated the capacity of the company in waste management, pointing to developments that include waste-processing facilities, sports grounds, a restaurant and plans for medical-waste processing.
“What used to be a common dumping site is now home to beautiful football grounds, a world-class restaurant and a waste-management processing plant,” he observed.
He instructed the local authority to move swiftly and formalise its engagement with Geo Pomona, stressing that a Cabinet decision to replicate the Harare model gave the local authority no room to delay the process.
“Mr mayor, engage Geo Pomona. If you cannot, tell us right away and we will do it and move forward,” he said.
Garwe added that the government expected a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be ready for signature within a week, underlining the urgency attached to resolving the Ngozi Mine challenge.
“I want to see the Memorandum of Agreement next week for signature,” he stated.
He maintained that the intervention was not about political contestation, but about safeguarding public health, improving cleanliness and ensuring the city meets the standards of a modern industrial city.
“Solutions do not come from papers, solutions come from us. We know what Ngozi Mine is providing in terms of pollution, and we know what must be done,” he said.
Garwe implored the council and all stakeholders to support the initiative, arguing that an upper-middle-income economy could not be built while cities remained burdened by unmanaged waste, pollution and deteriorating sanitation.
