City of Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume has responded to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA)’s ultimatum as well as ‘taking over’ declaration on uncollected garbage in the capital city.
Early this month, EMA gave the City Fathers a 10-day ultimatum to remove uncollected garbage in Mbare or face sanctions.
The City of Harare was served with an environmental protection order to remove garbage from undesignated places in Mbare.
On Sunday, it was reported that EMA will be taking over the capital city’s waste management.
Mafume, speaking at a Council function today, scoffed at those threats, saying they don’t many any sense at all. He said:
We want to advice ministers, to look at the press releases that are released from their offices and to manage their offices and to manage their ministries as professional entities.
It is irresponsible for one to make such imperious announcements when they were simply supposed to announce that they had bought some equipment.
Mafume reiterated that EMA does not have the power to involve itself in refuse collection matters. He said:
From my own understanding, EMA is a regulatory body. It does not involve itself in the collection of refuse, it monitors all and everybody —public and private, who is polluting the environment.