Glenview residents petitioned the Harare City Council over the signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Waste to Energy Project with Georgenix BV under the supervision of the Ministry of Local Government Honorable July Moyo on the 28th of February 2022. In the petition the residents raised critical issues that considering the revenue collected by the City of Harare, “the local authority had no capacity to pay US$40 per tonne of waste and that the ratepayers of Harare pay their rates in RTGS, but the agreement is in US dollars, which will see the City of Harare carrying the burden of the exchange rate loss.” On the other hand, the residents cited that there was no agreement or consultations that were conducted between the City of Harare and residents to use devolution funds to pay Georgenix BV waste disposal fees for the waste to energy project.
According to the petition the Waste to Energy Project was being imposed by central government and the City Council on the residents of Harare and the costs of the project outweighs its benefits to the residents and ratepayers of Harare. The residents lamented that the provisions of the agreement seek to monopolize waste collection which have serious implications on people who are selling plastic waste for livelihoods.
The residents’ called the Harare City Council to respect the Constitution, and allow democratic local governance in Harare, ensure citizen participation and involvement in local governance processes and uphold Chapter 14 of the Constitution on devolution by doing the following;
- Set up a special committee in terms of Section 100 of the Urban Councils Act 29:15 to investigate the feasibility and sustainability of the Waste to Energy Project.
- Conduct broader consultations with residents, stakeholders and ratepayers of Harare by unpacking how the project will be operating and solicit residents’ views and recommendations on the project.
- Require Georgenix BV to appear before stakeholders, ratepayers and residents and make a presentation of the waste to energy to allow public scrutiny.
The Combined Harare Residents Association calls on both central government and the local authority to respect citizen participation on development issues.
Source: CHRA
