Problems associated with waste management can be traced back to the beginning when humans started gathering to form communities, a scholar once wrote. One would expect that so many centuries of development in that area, would mean better waste management for communities today compared to the communities of previous century. However, this is not the case for the Matobo district’s Maphisa area which is still battling with poor waste management and littering which authorities attribute mainly to shortage of proper waste management equipment and systems.
So bad is the situation that residents in that area describe it as a “ticking health time bomb” which needs immediate intervention before it spirals out of control.
Speaking to Matobo Community Magazine reporter in separate interviews, responsible officials cited shortage of refuse collection vehicles, inadequate personnel and residents ignorance as some of the major reasons why the district still battles with managing waste properly, which has seen residents in the growth point of Maphisa struggling to keep their environment clean.
Mr Mncedisi Mavuso Tshabalala, a member of the Maphisa Area Committee said the problem of waste management, which he described as tragic, needs to be reigned in swiftly to save the community from an environmental collapse.
He implored the local authority to find a long lasting solution.
Residents in the area have resorted to dumping waste at illegal dumping sites, and sometimes burning it, which is itself an environmental hazard, and digging pits in their back yards.
“This is one of the challenges that we as residents have faced for quite some time. Some residents have dug pits inside their yards where they dispose off their waste and burn it when the pits are full. Unfortunately some residents dump their waste anywhere they can, along the road, along the canal, on undeveloped or semi developed stands and in the forest close to Mafuyana. There is no formal waste collection process in our area,” he said.
“It is a sad, disappointing and tragic situation that we are faced .It is a health ticking time bomb. The responsible authorities need to stand up and come up with urgent intervention before it’s too late. Other parts of Maphisa including the Business Centre, Roads and Eastern Side are better off as the Council tractor sometimes does its rounds and collects waste.”
The problem, he said, goes beyond solid waste as the community does not have sewer system which he said just like the community dumping site was proposed a few years ago but never materialized.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Education and Publicity Officer for Mat South, Mr Musasiwa Simon concurred, describing the situation as bad, citing erratic collection of waste amongst other factors adding that there needs to be a community based intervention which will enlighten the community on the importance proper waste management.
He said: “Waste management is not good in Maphisa due to erratic collection of waste, lack of adequate waste receptacles and mushrooming of illegal dumps all over .There is need to publish a known waste collection schedule, separation of waste at source, and council engage people and CBOs to clean Maphisa every week.
However, when this reporter caught up with Mr Brighton Sibanda from the Matobo Rural district council, he demonstrated that it was not all doom and gloom in Maphisa as the local authority had set in motion measures to curb the problem of poor waste management.
He said said the local authority only has one vehicle which can only collect refuse within the central business district and struggles to meet the refuse collection demand in the whole area which is why it has been difficult to service the whole of Maphisa.
He said: “As a local authority we have waste management strategies and waste management by laws. The implementation of these strategies and bylaws has faced a number of challenges. Shortage of a proper solid waste collection vehicle; constant break down of equipment, low staffing levels in the waste management section; general poor comprehension of benefits of proper waste management by the community. These are some of the issues that affect us in managing waste.”
Mr Sibanda assured residents that the council was already putting the situation under control.
“We are in the process of recruiting security personnel that will enforce our waste disposal bye laws. Litter is collected 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the residential areas. We need to have a properly fenced and lined waste disposal site and on this one the contractor is already on the ground doing Fencing works in our dumpsite.”
“There is need to construct waste management campaigns quarterly, engagement with the business community so that we work together in managing waste and investment in equipment,” said Mr Sibanda.
