Bulawayo councillors have expressed disappointment over the lack of cooperation from residents on the collection of refuse in residential suburbs in the city.
The city fathers, raised the concern during the full council meeting, Wednesday, noting that residents were not complimenting the efforts of the local authority.
They said that residents delay taking out their garbage on collection days while some do not tie their garbage bags tightly resulting in litter falling out of refuse trucks.
A member of the Health, Housing and Education Committee, Ward 2 councillor Joyce Ndlovu, said some residents delay in taking out their garbage and when it gets left behind they blame the council for poor service delivery.
“Some residents wake up late, especially in the low-density areas. They take out their garbage late, when they realise it wasn’t collected they dump it at illegal sites and still turn back and say the council is not working. May we as councillors encourage residents to take out their trash on time,” she said.
Ward 4 Cllr Silas Chigora concurred with Cllr Ndlovu adding that residents need to have a sense of responsibility for the city.
“We need to have a sense of responsibility for our city. The city is wasting a lot of resources collecting illegally dumped litter. As city fathers it is our mandate to lead by example and encourage residents to take out garbage timeously,” he said.
“We can’t be buying more garbage compactors for the city, we should be using those resources to purchase road rehabilitation machinery. The city is doing its best to collect refuse but the residents are not cooperating.”
Ward 8 Cllr Shadreck Sibanda, however, complained that the local authority needs to buy more refuse collection trucks in order to cater for illegal dumping sites which have sprouted around the city.
“There are many illegal dumpsites that are making the city very dirty. We have made several reports but we have not received any response from the council. The trucks that carry litter are now old. They have been working for the past five years without proper servicing. What plans are there for next year so that we may qt least commission more refuse trucks,” said Cllr Sibanda.
Ward 11 Cllr Pilate Moyo said there are some areas that refuse collectors do not reach.
He said their (refuse collectors) supervisors need to be communicated with to ensure they do a thorough job.
