Bulawayo City Council has convened an emergency meeting for Monday to decide its position on a government directive requiring the city to engage Geo Pomona Private Limited to manage waste, amid growing opposition from residents, civic leaders and opposition parties who say the deal is being imposed without adequate consultation.
The meeting follows Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe’s statement that the government would proceed with the controversial waste-management deal even if council rejected it.
Garwe said Cabinet had already endorsed the engagement of Geo Pomona and that the necessary paperwork was expected to be completed within a week.
He defended the intervention as a response to deteriorating waste-management and public-health conditions in Bulawayo, adding that private-sector partnerships were central to the government’s development strategy.
He pointed to Geo Pomona’s operations in Harare as evidence that private capital, technical expertise and innovation could improve waste collection, recycling and management.
Geo Pomona CEO Delish Nguwaya said the company was ready to work with the local authority and other stakeholders to improve waste management in Bulawayo.
United Nations resident coordinator Rosemary Kalapurakal also called for cooperation between government, councils, the private sector and communities in addressing urban environmental challenges.
Bulawayo mayor David Coltart told Southern Eye that he had called a special meeting of council in terms of Section 84(3) of the Urban Councils Act at 2pm on Monday.
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“The council’s position regarding the directive will be resolved in that meeting,” Coltart said.
He said the ministerial directive had not been subjected to consultation with residents or stakeholders.
“We do not know the costs at this stage. We need to resolve the Ngozi Mine crisis and, while there is broad consensus within the council regarding that, it must be done properly and in compliance with the law,” Coltart said.
“If a project is completed to the best advantage of BCC and is legally compliant, then residents will benefit enormously.”
Residents’ representatives questioned both the substance and the process.
Bulawayo United Residents Association chairperson Winos Dube said residents were reluctant to make a comprehensive assessment before seeing how the arrangement would be implemented and what benefits it would bring.
He criticised the manner in which the central government was dealing with local authorities, saying major decisions appeared increasingly to come through directives rather than negotiations and consultation.
“From perhaps our little understanding, we would have believed that the government should have the situation where there should be negotiations, consultations and agreements between these two parties,” Dube said.
He also asked why the government could not instead assist the local authority with funding to improve existing waste-management operations.
Veteran educationist Ben Moyo was more critical, describing the circumstances surrounding the deal as suspicious.
He questioned why the government appeared to be moving with urgency on waste management while other longstanding challenges facing Bulawayo, particularly water, remained unresolved.
“But this project is being forced down our throats as if it is for our own good,” Moyo said.
He also questioned the increasing involvement of the government in decisions traditionally handled by elected local authorities.
Moyo argued the government should prioritise basic services affecting residents, especially water and healthcare, before imposing new arrangements on the city.
He challenged the government's concerns over deteriorating environmental health conditions, asking about the state of the city’s central hospitals, including Ingutsheni.
He cited the earlier attempt to force the Zimbabwe National Water Authority takeover of water in cities, saying Bulawayo stood out and fought because it then had an executive mayor.
Former Ntabazinduna chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni said the controversy demonstrated why citizens should consider federalism and a two-state solution.
“This is a classic example of why the two-state solution has to now come back on the agenda,” Ndiweni said.
Ndiweni questioned Geo Pomona’s involvement in municipal waste management, citing its previous engagement in Harare.
He argued Bulawayo should have an opportunity to award waste-management contracts to local companies.
The Freedom Alliance also rejected the proposed deal, accusing the government of imposing it in violation of devolution principles.
Its leader, Presia Ngulube, said the party was concerned that Bulawayo was being forced to accept a deal decided by Cabinet in Harare.
She argued that BCC’s financial challenges were largely a result of government policies, including the nationalisation of vehicle licensing, the takeover of income-generating assets such as Bulawayo Power Station, and the withholding or diversion of devolution funds.
“It is therefore deeply sad and cynical that the same government that crippled the council now presents privatisation as the only solution,” Ngulube said.
She said the alleged imposition undermined Chapter 14 of the constitution and disrespected Bulawayo residents.
“This is a violation of devolution as enshrined in Chapter 14 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and an insult to the residents of Bulawayo,” she said.
The party called on residents to resist “Harare-imposed deals”, urged the government to allow a competitive tender process accessible to local firms, and warned councillors not to sign any contract under duress.
“Bulawayo is not a colony of Harare. Service delivery must not be used as a tool for patronage,” Ngulube said.
“The solution to a council deliberately starved of funds cannot be to sell the city. Bulawayo must be allowed to fix Bulawayo.”
Nkayi South legislator Jabulani Hadebe urged authorities to exercise caution before entering into any Geo Pomona deal for Bulawayo.
He said the city should learn from concerns raised around the Harare project, where residents’ associations, civil society organisations and councillors have complained of a lack of transparency, a potential US$1 billion debt burden and persistent refuse collection problems despite the project.
“The government must therefore publish the full agreement, consult residents and BCC widely, put strict environmental safeguards in place and build council capacity,” Hadebe said.
“Bulawayo deserves both cleanliness and accountability.”
