The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) says there is a need to craft a law that compels residents to clear overgrown grass in their homes.
This is after some councillors had raised concerns, during a full council meeting that residents were not taking any initiative to keep their environment clean and instead were waiting on the local authority.
The Chairperson of the Environmental Management and Engineering Services Committee Alderman Sboniso Khumalo said it is disheartening that some residents want to be pushed to clear their own homes and cut down grass.
“Your Worship, we expect people to be responsible enough and clean the spaces where they live. The council is doing its best despite the challenges it is facing due to resources,” he said.
“As it is we are struggling with machinery required for the cutting of grass. Most of our tractors are broken down. We implore the finance department to look into the issue and ensure that at least we get some money to fix our machinery so that we can clean the environment.”
The Mayor suggested that the Committee enforce legislation that will arm-twist residents to clear overgrown grass at their homes.
He said although the council is doing its best to clear some areas, residents should complement the efforts by clearing areas surrounding their homes.
“Are there no legislative provisions that deal with people who do not clear their yards. If there, aren’t, I’m sure some can be crafted. We cannot afford to have a city that has overgrown grass like this. We realise the council is trying but there are some people who can’t clean their yards and their surroundings,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Cllr Mlandu Ncube suggested that the council should also clear some areas which are being used as undesignated worship places.
Cllr Ncube complained that many churches have mushroomed and they use undesignated areas despite the fact that the council offers churches areas where they can put up their buildings.
“The council must clear all these open spaces that are being illegally used as churches. You find more than five groups of people with different places of worship and at the end of the day they leave the places littered,” Cllr Ncube said.
