Harare (New Ziana)- President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared a “state of disaster” in Harare province due to the failure by the City of Harare to dispose of waste.

The state of disaster was gazetted in Statutory Instrument 140 of 2013 published on Monday.

The S.I said the Government had noted with great concern the deplorable state of cleanliness of Harare, characterised, among other things, by litter and waste dumps accumulating in business and residential areas of the Province, open burning of garbage and indiscriminate illegal dumping of solid waste and littering.

“As a result of the failure to properly manage waste within the Harare Metropolitan Province, a state of disaster exists in that province with effect from the promulgation of this declaration,” it reads.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) will undertake the waste management role and is expected to ensure emergency solid waste management is undertaken efficiently.

“The Agency shall— co-ordinate the use of materials and services made available by local authorities within the Harare Metropolitan Province during the state of disaster; endeavour to remove illegal solid waste dump, by means of a range of activities including mapping, quantification and clearing of illegal waste dumps and direct local authorities within the Harare Metropolitan Province to establish appropriately designed and designated waste transfer stations,” said the S.I.

EMA is also expected to direct local authorities within the Harare Metropolitan Province, under its supervision, to undertake periodic refuse collection, consisting of street-by-street waste collection including sanitary lanes and to install bins in streets and public places as well as hold awareness campaigns on waste disposal.

Failure by Harare and its satellite town councils to collect and dispose of litter has been cited as one of the major causes of diseases such as cholera.

New Ziana