Friday 6 March 2020

NATIONAL CLEAN UP PAYING OFF, SAYS ED


The national clean-up campaign has made significant impact towards fostering a culture of cleanliness among citizens, the President has said. He made the remarks during a clean-up exercise, which was attended by hundreds of people at Mupandawana  Town yesterday.

This was the first time the programme was undertaken in a rural area, where the President led the cleaning of Mupandawana Bus Terminus amid ululation from the people.

Speaking after the 2-hour long clean-up, the President commended strides made so far in inculcating a culture of cleanliness. He said the fight against littering should start at household level.

“We hope that the clean-up exercise will become a daily habit and I am very happy that Samora Machel Avenue in Harare is now very clean and people have even planted flowers, something that started after we initiated the clean-up campaign.

“Even visitors who come to the city will commend Samora Machel Avenue and say ‘what a clean city this is’ and that is what we want,” said the President.

Taking the clean-up to rural areas, said President Mnangagwa, demonstrated seriousness in the fight against litter.

About 65 percent of Zimbabweans live in rural areas, hence the decision to move there.  The President said the Second Republic valued cleanliness as evidenced by top Government officials who led the clean-up in various parts of the country.

He challenged both rural and urban local authorities to develop waste management policies to tame the scourge of littering.

“In rural areas in particular, putting in place a waste management policy is very important because every single day there is a family that throws away litter,” he said.

The President urged leaders, from village heads and chiefs, to encourage cleanliness, starting with homes.

“I will, in future, be making unannounced visits to homes countrywide to check on hygiene standards there. I don’t want to find a home with cockroaches.

“A home that has cockroaches shows that people staying there are not tidy; they don’t clean their homes and wash their utensils. Smartness should start in the home,” said President                                     Mnangagwa.
He commended the Mupandawana community for keeping their area clean. The President went down memory lane and narrated the challenges encountered during the liberation war when fighters rarely washed their clothes, forcing some of them to burn them to control lice.

President Mnangagwa advised people to drink water from clean sources or treat it before drinking. Public transport operators were challenged to have litter bins in their vehicles to prevent the indiscriminate littering.

He further called upon people to plant fruit trees at their homes and have vegetable gardens for healthy living.

Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu commended President Mnangagwa for conceiving the clean-up campaigns.

He said the President’s decision to lead from the front demonstrated servant leadership, and called on everyone to heed the cleanliness drive.

Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira said the province was ahead in implementing the clean-up campaign, with many prominent institutions adopting streets and places, which they keep clean. 

Cabinet ministers Owen Ncube (State Security), Professor Amon Murwira (Higher and Tertiary Education), Dr Obadiah Moyo (Health and Child Care) and Zanu PF politburo members Cdes Sydney Sekeramayi, Mike Bimha, Josaya Hungwe, Engelbert Rugeje and Lovemore Matuke, traditional leader Chief Gutu, joined the President during the clean-up.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa commissioned a $5 million project to upgrade and modernise Gutu Rural Hospital in Mupandawana Town.

The development is expected to improve the health delivery system in line with the Government’s Vision 2030 of an upper middle income society.

The project, which saw the equipping and upgrading of a laundry wing and mortuary at Gutu Rural Hospital, together with the launch of an albino assistance scheme, is part of long-term plans to transform the health institution into a district hospital.

Construction of a maternity wing is underway, with commissioning of the facility set for October this year.

One of the country’s leading platinum miners, Zimplats, financed the mortuary, laundry and albino assistance projects as part of its social responsibility programme. 

The new mortuary has capacity to carry six bodies. It was fitted with new equipment, while the laundry wing now has two washing machines and an ironing room, fitted with all the requisite materials.

Zimplats donated 500 bottles of sun screen and lip balm together with 50 hats for those living with albinism.

The company further pledged to provide monthly rations for those that register at the hospital.

Gutu Network Development, founded by sons and daughters from the district, is financing the construction of the maternity wing.

There is no Government-run district hospital in the area with all referral cases being handled at Gutu Mission, which is run by the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe. 

Speaking after commissioning the projects, President Mnangagwa said the development dovetailed with his administration’s thrust to promote cleanliness.

He praised the projects at Gutu Rural Hospital, which he said bore testimony to the success of public private partnerships.

The President commended Zimplats for its gesture, and challenged the platinum miner to replicate the programme across the country.

“The duty to provide everything that has been done here is f Government’s. It is our duty, yes, but we want to congratulate those who have come forward and rendered assistance,” he said.

“I want to urge you (Zimplats) to extend this hand to other provinces in the country. You must only come back here for other projects after you have first done something for other provinces that have not yet benefited from your good gestures.”

President Mnangagwa said the new mortuary will see the dead being preserved with dignity before burial.

The new maternity wing is also expected to reduce infant mortality.

The President, who saluted Zimplats for supporting people living with albinism, challenged other legislators to ensure they have such facilities in their constituencies.

“Such projects also go hand in hand with our vision to promote cleanliness throughout the country,” he said.

President Mnangagwa praised Gutu Central National Assembly member Winston Chitando for spearheading developmental projects in his constituency.

He urged other parliamentarians to emulate Cde Chitando’s servant leadership, which he said guaranteed the legislator continuous support from the electorate.

Cde Chitando, who is also the Mines and Mining Development Minister, launched a number of projects to economically empower people in his constituency, including commercial garlic production that will earn households income.

There is also a subsidised grinding mill project where people in 10 wards in the constituency, are paying $2 to have a bucket of maize ground.

President Mnangagwa said the initiatives by Cde Chitando help ordinary people access basic services at affordable prices.

Cde Chitando gave President Mnangagwa a copy of the constituency newsletter, which shows the projects taking place there in line with Vision 2030.

Zimplats chief executive Mr Alex Mhembere said his firm had poured $5 million for new projects at Gutu Rural Hospital.


He said besides the new mortuary and laundry room, his firm had financed the drilling of two boreholes and installation of water storage tanks to ensure adequate supply. Herald

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