Dirtiest place in Mat South named

MAPHISA Rural District Council has been named the dirtiest place in Matabeleland South by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA).

The agency said travellers who throw litter from moving vehicles, were responsible for making Maphisa, in Matobo District unclean.

The environmental watchdog has warned that it will soon be fining litterbugs up to $5 000.

Addressing residents at the belated commemorations of the Africa Environment Day at Maphisa centre on Tuesday, EMA's environmental education and publicity officer Sithembokuhle Moyo said Maphisa rural district council had the highest concentration of litter dumped by travellers in the province.

Africa Environment Day is celebrated annually on 3 March and this year it ran under the theme "Youth and the Environment."
She said the agency would soon embark on an awareness campaign to promote the need for a clean and safe environment.

She said littering fines were between$5 and $20 and those that dump waste could be fined up to $5 000.

She said after the awareness campaign, EMA would go out full force to enforce the law by imposing the fines on errant individuals and companies.

Matobo Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer, Elvis Sibanda said an acute shortage of dustbins and man power was making it difficult to maintain cleanliness in Maphisa.

He said the current situation was a breeding ground for diseases like Cholera

Sibanda said there was only one garbage collector in the district and the person could not cope with the overwhelming quantities of litter accumulated on a daily basis.

He said occasionally engaging casual workers to deal with the problem was ineffective and hardly seemed to reduce the mounds of litter.

The event was attended Matobo Rural District councillors, residents, officials from different government departments and pupils from schools in the district.