VICTORIA Falls collects more than 5 000 bags of garbage from the streets every month through the efforts of the waste management task force which was created by various stakeholders in the resort city.
The initiative seeks to maintain the city in its pristine state by picking litter on a daily basis.
The task force is part of the Pristine Victoria Falls Society (PVFS) initiative which was started in October last year.
PVFS was formed by stakeholders and residents in Victoria Falls in an effort to drive forward the goal to become the cleanest City in Africa. Led by a committee of individuals from various organisations within Victoria Falls, the Pristine Victoria Falls Society has quickly gained momentum as more and more stakeholders and individuals take the pledge to ensure Victoria Falls becomes a “pristine City”.
The task force is composed of PVFS, Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Victoria Falls City Council and police.
Campaign manager Mr Douglas Musiringofa said when the PVFS was formed in 2021, over 6000 bags of waste were collected from the streets in its first year of inception.
For now, they are collecting an average of 5 000 bags per month.
Mr Musiringofa said residents decided to come together for the purpose of keeping Victoria Falls and its environs clean as well as promoting tourism.
He said they are complementing the Government in the fight against an outbreak of diseases and through solid waste management. “In November 2022, we scaled up our efforts in waste and environmental management and formulated the Victoria Falls Waste Management Taskforce. PVFS collected over 6 000 bags of waste from various streets of Victoria Falls in its first year of inception and now collects an average of 5 000 bags per month,” said Mr Musiringofa.
“Its mandate is to ensure that all business establishments and residents comply with waste and environmental management policies as provided for under the council by-laws and EMA Act.”
The task force also conducts awareness campaigns on waste and environmental issues as well as enforcing the law by issuing out orders and tickets to offenders through its routine operations.
Poor waste management is one of the biggest headaches for many urban areas as citizens continue to disregard the provisions of the law by illegally dumping litter.
Streets in some cities are littered with various kinds of garbage including paper, residues from farm and vegetables products sold on the streets by vendors, packaging of goods bought in shops among others.
Victoria Falls is rated as one of the cleanest urban areas in the country
The week leading to Christmas Day, the Victoria Falls waste management taskforce issued 13 tickets to various litter bugs.
Mr Musiringofa said the taskforce is scaling up efforts and investing in waste management to force behaviour change and ensure a clean environment. “We have partnered with various tourism players in Victoria Falls to support our efforts and also reward any community champions who actively engage in clean up exercise. This includes taking part in the National Clean-Up exercise which was launched by President Mnangagwa and we have partners that have pledged reward for community champions,” he said – The Chronicle
