Environmental Reporter
Bulawayo — The sprawling suburb of Cowdray Park, Bulawayo’s largest suburb has became an eyesore to its residents with uncontrolled litter afflicting the area.
The crisis is exercerbated by Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC) inefficiency to manage waste collection particularly in the eMpompini area.
Heaps of illegally dumped litter have become an eyesore for a while. And Cowdray Park residents are calling for an immediate action from the City Fathers to address the rampant dumping in their community.
“The uncontrolled dumping has caused a lot of environmental pollution in segment 11. Pampers and papers are a menace especially to those who are near dumping sites. Some even dump their dead pets with green bombers (flies) hovering all over. The flies become a nuisance as they invade nearby homes, carrying unknown diseases.
“The only solution is for BCC to collect all the rubbish from within stands like its doing in a other suburbs,” Said Gift Dube, Resident Representative.
Dube also revealed that Cowdray Park (eMpompini) has not been receiving services of refuse collection for some time.
“There is very little participation of local government… They (BCC) have always complained of lack of vehicles to do the job. There was promise that in 2025 they will start collections which has not been forth coming,” said Dube.
Chantel Nkomo, one of the residents said illegal dumping taking place around the area is due to lack of waste management initiatives.
“I think dumping is caused by poor waste management infrastructure and lack of enforcement. To address it, the city needs to improve waste collection systems, increase penalties for dumping, and raise awareness about proper waste disposal.” Nkomo said.
Nkomo added that the community’s ongoing efforts to tackle the waste crisis needs technical support.
“There are some community-led initiatives, such as clean-up campaigns, but they need more support and resources to make a lasting impact. We need sustained efforts to tackle this crisis.”
The City’s most populated suburb is the least serviced and in an interview, Councillor Ashton Mhlanga said BCC does not collect the waste in the area like it does in other suburbs because of poor road network. As a result, residents came together to tackle the issue by moving the waste to accessible roads.
“We made an arrangement with residents last month, their waste will now be collected every week at the main road at Mpompini area”, stated Councillor A. Mhlanga.
Councillor Mhlanga added that with Cowdray Park’s ongoing waste crisis due to service delivery issues will be addressed following the US$30 Million loan issued by the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe.
“There is a Title deeds program that we approved at the last full council, the program seeks to address the Servicing of Cowdray Park, like Roads, Drainages and Sewer. The infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe has offered US$30 million towards the program. It’s a loan, so we are yet to consult residents it is up to them to agree or not.” He said.
Mhlanga could not explain why the waste collection compactors which were recently acquired by the Council were not allocated to Cowdray Park to assist in the removal of mountainous waste.
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