Bulawayo's Cowdray Park residents call for greater enforcement of anti-littering rules as the community cleans up again

Cowdray Park (Cllr C Ndlovu) is one of the largest constituencies in the city, both geographically and demographically. This has turned it into a very difficult constituency to govern and administer.

However, the CAT members have taken it upon themselves to keep their township clean and decrease the likelihood of refuse related diseases.

While doing his regular rounds around the Wards, ZDDT News Correspondent, Ntando Sibanda (NS), caught up with the CAT community members and the Cleansing Section of the Health Department of the Bulawayo City Council hard at work. He managed to get a side interview with one of the CAT members, Mrs Sithabile Mutakiwe (SM).

Below can be found excerpts from the interview:

NS: What do you think are the negative effects of increased littering in your Ward?

SM: The Ward is getting dirtier as you can see people are not stopping this terrible habit. Obviously it has a negative effect in terms of health standards and disease outbreaks. It certainly has to stop.

NS: What do you think should be done to curb this problem form recurring?

SM: There should be a way of empowering the municipal police and citizen policing so that every culprit can be brought before the rule of law when they are caught littering. We also wish that the Councillor, together with the Local Authority, could issue us with “Do not litter” banners as a form of deterrent. If people see the banners they might refrain from littering, as the banners are a manifestation of the extent of the rule of law.

NS: Do you think the Trust’s intervention in terms of clean-up campaign is helping in cleaning the city clean and in curbing diseases related to refuse?

SM: Yes, this intervention is very helpful. You can imagine how much litter would have accumulated unattended if ZDDT had not introduced the cleaning campaigns.

Since its inception in 2009, ZDDT has been facilitating clean-up campaigns.

This is in line with the Trust’s objective of educating people about the need for a clean and healthy environment for improved investment, employment and general living standards of the citizenry.