About 512 settlers, most of whom have for years found home and sustained livelihoods at the Pomona dumpsite north of Harare, are set to be relocated through Government support to pave way for the massive €304 million waste-to-energy project which has already commenced, while employment opportunities will be created for the ablest among them.
Approved by the Cabinet, the Pomona project, which has seen
the pungent smells known to attract swarms of flies associated with the
dumpsite being a thing of the past, is expected to generate 22MW of
electricity, and provide at least 500 jobs.
The development is being undertaken by Geo Pomona Waste
Management (Private) Limited, a subsidiary of Geogenix BV, an internationally
acclaimed company with footprints in refuse dealing, in partnership with the
City of Harare, which has already handed over the landfill.
The company has done similar projects in Italy, Switzerland
and Germany.
Responding to questions during a ministerial tour of the
site conducted by Geo Pomona Waste Management (Private) Limited and the
Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services to assess the
progress on the project yesterday, National Housing and Social Amenities
Minister Daniel Garwe said it was the Government’s responsibility to relocate
the affected individuals.
“Government policy is that no place and no one should be
left behind in terms of decent and affordable accommodation. The Government has
a Human Settlements Policy, which ensures that every Zimbabwean has a right to
access clean water, the right to human dignity, and the right to shelter,” said
Minister Garwe.
“Since their rights are now infringed, it is the
Government’s responsibility to ensure that it provides social housing which
covers the cluster of these people.”
Acknowledging the “massive” progress on the waste-to-energy
project, he said although all Cabinet ministers were supposed to attend, some
could not make it owing to “competing programmes”.
“I have come here more specifically because there are 512
individuals who are living here in squalid conditions, and I needed to have an
onsite understanding and appreciation of their state of living,” Minister Garwe
said. “We have to look for suitable places where we will relocate them.”
The minister said when considering land for relocation,
nearby high-density areas, like Hatcliffe, should be looked at.
“The Government may have to build some flats in areas like
Hatcliffe on a rental basis, because obviously buying or procuring would not be
within their (waste-pickers) reach in terms of their incomes. They will,
however, be able to afford the rentals since they will be affordable,” he said.
Calling it a “priority area”, Minister Garwe said his
ministry would arrange a tour to engage the affected individuals and “give them
comfort’’ on the Government’s intentions.
He also expressed gratitude to the company for offering to
employ the majority of them since they have developed critical skills for waste
management, saying such programmes as the one at Pomona dumpsite should be
spread to other cities across the country.
Speaking at the same occasion, Geo Pomona Waste Management
(Private) Limited operations and compliance manager, Engineer Wadzanai Chigwa,
said no waste should be allowed “to go to waste”, saying the Pomona project,
which is one of only two in Africa, is unique in that it gives the recycling
and “hierarchy” of waste “another meaning.”
Eng Chigwa said waste-pickers who have settled at the
dumpsite, separating recyclable and non-recyclable waste before selling it to
recyclers, would be considered for employment.
“The intention of the project is not to shun them away,
because they have got a skill which is actually unique. They know which waste
is recyclable and which waste is non-recyclable,” she said.
“So, some of them are going to be considered for the
sorting plant, so that they help us to sort the waste because they know how to,
and do not need any training.”
The firm’s general manager, Mr Enea Murataj, said the waste
management plant will transform the dumpsite into a world class recreational
park with three soccer fields, two tennis courts and two rugby pitches, among
other attractions for family outings. Herald
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