The Sunday News
Peter Matika, Senior Reporter
THE Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry in partnership with Prophet Walter Magaya’s Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries, yesterday held a clean-up campaign in Harare’s CBD, as the ministry works towards maintaining a clean and disease free environment.
Minister Prisca Mupfumira, during the campaign, encouraged stakeholders’ participation in clean-ups, saying it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure that the country is clean.
“It is quite humbling for me to stand before such a huge crowd as we witness yet another timely intervention by PHD Ministries making its contribution to the cleanliness of the environment. The responsibility for a clean, safe and healthy environment is for all of us. Today, we are witnessing PHD Ministries translating their faith into deeds. Stakeholder participation in environmental management is surely the cornerstone of sustainability. Indeed, our constitution on section 73 provides for environmental rights, which every person should enjoy by living in a clean, safe and healthy environment,” she said.
Minister Mupfumira said the outbreak of cholera in the capital city recently was an indicator for the need to maintain clean surroundings.
“The recent cholera outbreak, where precious lives were lost is nothing but an indicator of inaction by all of us to sustainably manage our waste. My plea is, all churches should join us in this endeavour to keep our Zimbabwe clean. We now need to put in place sustainability measures to maintain the cleanliness we have established today. My ministry is ready to ensure polluters of the environment through littering and dumping are prosecuted, while promoting sustainable waste management practices,” said Minister Mupfumira.
She said her ministry would encourage the adoption of sustainable waste management practices.
“Waste separation at source should be the norm and the new way of doing business by all waste generators. Through waste separation, it’s easy to promote waste recycling. May I also urge all waste generators that, waste bins must be available and emptied at designated places. Failure to do so, my ministry, will be left with no option except to unleash the full wrath of the law to all violators of the law. It is also time that the nations should start reducing the amount of plastic that we use in our daily activities as a phase out of plastic is coming. Globally, there is a strong position on the complete ban of single use plastic products,” she said.
@peterkmatika
