By Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
SOME Harare residents have filed an application at the High Court seeking an order to compel City of Harare and Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo to collect refuse and clear all dumpsites that have accumulated in all wards in the capital city.
In an application filed at Harare High Court on 27 May 2022, the residents who live in Mbare, Highfield and Mabvuku and are represented byPaidamoyo Saurombe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, protested that as faithful ratepayers, they are affected by the non-collection of refuse and yet City of Harare still charge them for garbage collection.
The residents, Juliet Chatambudza, Soul Gurudza and Spiwe Guwa, stated that refuse collection has become erratic in the capital city and they are now providing refuse bins for themselves and yet they used to receive them from City of Harare.
Chatambudza, Gurudza and Guwa said due to non-collection of refuse, residents had resorted to dumping garbage in their suburbs which is piling up in huge refuse dumps.
City of Harare, the residents argued, is unjustly enriching itself at their expense by continuing to collect rate payments for collection of refuse while neglecting to collect garbage thereby infringing on their right to an environment that is not harmful to their well-being and health as provided in Section 73 of the Constitution.
As a result of the non-collection of refuse, the residents said they were suffering from dysentery caused by the health hazard and were being exposed to other diseases.
Chatambudza, Gurudza and Guwa argued that City of Harare has an obligation to collect refuse from their residences and to clear dumpsites that have accumulated in the suburbs.
As a remedy, the residents want City of Harare to be ordered by the High Court to clear all rubbish at dumpsites, to publish a refuse collection timetable in newspapers and on its social media platforms and to collect garbage in accordance with the timetable it would have published.
ENDS