Story by Owen Mandovha
POMONA, HARARE – PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa this Thursday commissioned a fleet of refuse collection equipment and a modern waste sorting plant at the Geo Pomona Waste Management site, marking a significant milestone in Zimbabwe’s pursuit of sustainable urban management and environmental stewardship.
The development, a result of a public-private partnership between Government, the City of Harare and Geo Pomona Waste Management Company, is set to fully restore Harare’s waste collection capacity for the first time in decades, bringing with it improved sanitation, power generation, and employment opportunities.
Dr Dilesh Nguwaya, Executive Chairperson and CEO of Geo Pomona Waste Management Company, highlighted the multifaceted impact of the initiative.
“This is the beginning of a new Era for the city in waste management and energy generation. We are bringing in over 2 500 skips bins and 45 tipper trucks that will eradicate environmental hazards but most importantly create employment generate electricity and create one of the most sunshine cities in the world,” he said.
The plant, designed to sort and process waste into energy, is a flagship component of a broader vision to transform Harare into a sustainable, world-class city aligned with Vision 2030.
Harare Mayor, Councillor Jacob Mafume, welcomed the intervention as a timely response to critical service delivery gaps.
“We had long been hampered by a shortage of key refuse collection equipment. This partnership offers a lasting solution and is pivotal to the City of Harare’s ambitions to become a clean, liveable urban centre of international repute,” he said.
Acting Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Honourable Winston Chitando, said the success of the project demonstrates the power of public-private collaboration under the Government’s ‘Open for Business’ mantra.
“We are grateful that public private partnerships are working effectively to create an environmentally sustainable but also reducing reliance on the nation grid for energy through this magnificent project which has been made possible by the open for business mantra which has attracted foreign capital,” he said.
Harare Metropolitan Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Senator Charles Tawengwa, underscored the project’s long-term vision.
“This innovative waste management solution is pivotal in transforming Harare into a modern, world-class city. It dovetails with our national aspiration to become an empowered upper middle-income society by the year 2030.”
The commissioning of the sorting plant and refuse collection equipment comes just three years after the project’s inception, underlining Government’s commitment to sustainable development through strategic partnerships and infrastructure investment.
