Masvingo City Council moves to privatise refuse collection

M
MASVINGO—With only two refuse trucks servicing thousands of households, the city council here has moved to privatise refuse collection and has opened up a tender process to people with trucks capable of doing the job.

There has been an outcry from members of the public after the city fathers have been overwhelmed with piling refuse in residential areas raising serious health concerns.

“The City of Masvingo invites interested members of the community owning trucks ranging from 4 tonnes to 7 tonnes to submit their details to The Town Clerk for consideration and possible hire of their vehicles for refuse removal in Masvingo City.

“The project will involve refuse removal from the households and the streets to designated sites within the City,” said the city council in a statement.

The two city council trucks often times break down leaving residents to coexist with garbage for periods of up to a month.

Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (Murra) has welcomed the development saying it will go a long way in ensuring that the city maintains its clean status.

“We welcome the development because refuse has not been collected in many areas. We know the city council does not have enough trucks. We encourage them to buy more trucks but in the meantime, the privatisation is most welcome.

“We are a clean city but the developments we have witnessed over the past months are worrying. Refuse has to be collected in time before we expose our people to diseases which we have no capacity to deal with,” said Murra spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba.