Godfrey Mtimba
Masvingo—Masvingo City Council is running afoul of a High Court ruling that ordered it to stop using a sprawling dumpsite that is posing health and environmental hazards to residents of Runyararo West and Victoria Ranch.
Masvingo High Court judge, Sunsley Zisengwe, on 24 June interdicted the council from using the dumpsite area located in Runyararo West for waste disposal.
This followed an application by the Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) in January.
Yolanda Chandati of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) represented the association.
The local authority was given up to 31 December to relocate to a new landfill on Cambria Farm but it is saying it will not be able to do so due to a variety of constraints.
Justice Zisengwe also ordered the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to enforce the High Court order.
The planned Cambria site is still being developed.
The Masvingo mayor, Aleck Tabe, told NewsHub that council would only be able to move over to Cambria in January next year, despite consenting to the June High Court ruling.
“We are looking forward to moving to the new site around January next year. We are still waiting for the equipment for the landfill after completing the procurement process,” said Tabe.
Even then, Tabe is unsure if the municipality will be able to meet its own January deadline.
Residents living near the dumpsite have long complained that the refuse disposal area is encroaching on their homes, with some households now only a few metres away.
Tandiwe Moyo, a Runyararo West resident, said children from the suburb often collected dangerous medical waste from Masvingo General Hospital.
“Despite degrading our environment, the dumpsite poses a dangerous health risk to our children, who sneak out and play there.
“There are dangerous things like used syringes and razor blades from the hospital that are dumped there,” she said.
The council is also accused of contributing to air pollution, as waste at the site is regularly burnt, creating a hazardous smoke cloud that overwhelms nearby homes.
A 2024 report on the dumpsite by Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) cited Section 73 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to a clean environment and obliges the state to protect the environment for present and future generations.
The report also highlighted breaches of Section 70 of the Environmental Management Act, which prohibits the disposal of waste in a manner that causes pollution.
Furthermore, ZHRC concluded that the situation amounted to a violation of Section 68, which guarantees the right to administrative justice, including fair, lawful, reasonable, and prompt administrative conduct.
The MURRA director, Anoziva Muguti, said alliance would not “pre-empt” its next steps should the council fail to comply with the High Court order as it has indicated.