Bulawayo City Council sells out to Geo Pomona

GOVERNMENT has directed the Bulawayo City Council to engage Geo Pomona Waste Management Company to transform Richmond Landfill, popularly known as Ngozi Mine, as part of efforts to address the city's long-standing waste management challenges.

The directive is expected to accelerate efforts to address the dumpsite, which has become a health and environmental concern due to pollution caused by particles from the landfill.

Minister of Local Government and Public Works Daniel Garwe said Government had decided to push ahead with the project after delays linked to feasibility studies.

He said the city council had been directed to begin the necessary processes to enable Geo Pomona to commence work, with implementation expected to start as early as October.

"We had told the Bulawayo City Council to deal with the issue of the dumpsite. There have been delays in coming up with a solution in the name of feasibility studies. We then saw that the delays are not doing any good," Garwe said.

"We have seen the good work by Geo Pomona in Harare, who have since constructed a world-class waste management centre with restaurants and sporting facilities. Ngozi Mine can also benefit from such."

Garwe said the project was part of Government's broader drive to develop clean and smart cities.

"We want our cities to be clean as we turn them into smart cities. As such, we have directed the city fathers to start the necessary paperwork so that they work with Geo Pomona. We expect work to start as soon as October for the benefit of the city of Bulawayo," he said.

Bulawayo Town Clerk Christopher Dube said the local authority was ready to implement the directive and was already engaging Geo Pomona.

"We had some challenges on how to implement the programme. We are engaging Geo Pomona and are set to sign the project and start the programme. Implementation starts here. We are taking the ministerial directive as it is, and what is left is that we take it for implementation," Dube said.

Geo Pomona Special Advisor to the President on Waste Management and Environmental Sustainability Dr Dilesh Nguwaya said the company was ready to begin work once a Memorandum of Understanding with the city had been signed.

"We are here to help in transforming the city of Bulawayo into a smart city. There are a lot of processes involved in turning the waste management site into what you see in Harare," Nguwaya said.

He said the first stage would involve mining the existing dump.

"We are going to start by mining the dump as soon as we sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the city fathers. We have the equipment and capacity, and we are ready to do the work," he said.

Geo Pomona's waste management model in Harare has attracted interest from local authorities across Zimbabwe, with several councils studying the approach as they explore ways of improving waste management in their respective cities.