Bulawayo residents resist CIO-sponsored tour to force Geo Pomona

The Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations and Residents Trust (ZNOART), an alleged CIO-sponsored organisation, is seeking to conduct a tour of Bulawayo's Richmond Landfill, popularly known as Ngozi Mine, amid growing controversy over the proposed involvement of Geo Pomona Waste Management in the city's waste management.

ZNOART has written to the Bulawayo City Council seeking approval for the residents' tour, saying it wants to obtain first-hand information on the condition and operations of the dumpsite and assess its impact on surrounding communities.

The planned visit has, however, drawn criticism from some Bulawayo residents and civic voices, who question the purpose of bringing a national residents' organisation into a debate that has already generated strong views among local residents' associations and civil society groups.

Critics argue that local residents have lived with the problems at Ngozi Mine for years and should be directly engaged before any external organisation attempts to assess the crisis or influence the debate around its proposed solution.

The controversy comes after the Government directed the Bulawayo City Council and Geo Pomona to enter into an agreement within seven days to address the waste crisis at Ngozi Mine.

Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said Geo Pomona would play a central role in tackling pollution from the landfill, where recurring smoke and emissions have affected surrounding communities, including Cowdray Park.

The Government's position has received some support, with residents quoted in state media welcoming the prospect of a solution to the long-running crisis and expressing hope that the intervention could improve living conditions and create employment opportunities.

However, a coalition of Bulawayo residents' associations and civil society organisations has opposed what it describes as the fast-tracking of a deal with Geo Pomona.

The organisations said they supported urgent action to address the environmental and public-health problems at Ngozi Mine but argued that urgency should not be used to bypass procurement procedures, public scrutiny and local government processes.

The groups have also called for disclosure of the financial implications of the proposed arrangement and greater involvement of Bulawayo residents in decisions concerning the city's waste management system.

Against this background, critics of the ZNOART tour have questioned whether the organisation will conduct an independent assessment of the situation.

They have pointed to the organisation's links to the wider debate around the Geo Pomona model and questioned whether a tour alone can provide a comprehensive assessment of the longstanding problems at Ngozi Mine.

Geo Pomona itself promotes its Pomona operation in Harare as a model of sustainable waste management, saying the site was previously plagued by uncontrolled dumping, fires and pollution before being rehabilitated. The company says the facility now incorporates controlled waste disposal, access roads, security infrastructure and a weighbridge, among other improvements.

The company has also said that consultations with residents and other stakeholders, including ZNOART, formed part of the process preceding its takeover of the Pomona site in Harare.

The Ngozi Mine crisis itself is not disputed. Residents in Cowdray Park and surrounding areas have repeatedly complained about smoke from the landfill, while the Environmental Management Agency has warned about pollution from burning waste and potential contamination of groundwater.

The current dispute is therefore increasingly centred on how the crisis should be resolved, who should oversee the process and whether Geo Pomona should be brought into Bulawayo through the proposed arrangement.

Bulawayo civic groups have maintained that residents should be consulted and that procurement and local-government procedures should be followed before a long-term agreement is concluded.

The proposed ZNOART visit is now likely to add another dimension to an already contentious debate over the future of Ngozi Mine and waste management in Bulawayo.