Bulawayo councillors have lamented the inconsistency in collecting refuse by the council, raising fears that this could lead to an outbreak of diseases.
Speaking during the first full council meeting for 2021, Wednesday, Ward 4 Cllr Silas Chigora noted that refuse is not being collected at residential areas as well as shopping centres.
Cllr Chigora challenged the Health, Housing and Education committee to look into the issue and ensure that garbage is collected as frequently as possible to ensure that residents’ health is not compromised.
“Refuse collection is not consistent around the city. There has been a lot of dumping even in the city centre. You find that at every corner there is rubbish which would be dumped there. In my ward there are several big bins and residents are making use of those to dump their refuse. Even at shopping centres, there is a lot of garbage lying idle,” said Cllr Chigora.
“We understand that we are in a challenging situation, but honestly Your Worship the city council cannot go for over a month or two without collecting refuse. Where would we expect the residents to dump their garbage? This is not healthy especially now that we are faced with the deadly Covid-19. People will be exposed to various diseases which are associated with garbage which is not properly disposed of.”
Deputy Mayor, Ward 1 Cllr Mlandu Ncube acknowledged the local authority`s shortcomings and promised to have the issue rectified.
“We do acknowledge that of late, refuse collection has been a challenge and this festive season we failed to fulfil our duties. We were quite overwhelmed. Maybe it is time that as a council we sit down and reflect if we need assistance to carry out this crucial service for our residents.
Meanwhile, ward 22 Cllr Rodney Jele called on the local authority to mantain its schools during the lockdown noting that most schools have long grass which has not been cut for a long time, noting that such areas could become breeding spaces for snakes.
“No one is going to school of late, and this opportunity can be seized to clear the premises. There have been cases of snakes being found wandering in grounds. The overgrown grass is harbouring them. It would be wise for us to make plans for these schools to be cleared while there is nobody attending,” he said.
