Bulawayo City Council is set to engage Geo Pomona Waste Management to manage the Ngozi Mine dumpsite despite having already received three compliant bids through a procurement process it initiated more than a year ago.
The development has raised fresh questions over the fate of the city’s own search for a private waste management partner after council was directed by Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe to engage Geo Pomona to tackle the crisis at Richmond Landfill, commonly known as Ngozi Mine.
A town clerk’s report dated September 14 shows that council had been following a formal procurement and public-private partnership process when it received a verbal directive from Garwe on September 10 to engage Geo Pomona.
The report recommended that council comply with the directive, grant management authority to engage Geo Pomona and require management to report back to council on the engagement.
Residents and civil society organisations have questioned the transparency and legality of the proposed arrangement.
The council’s own records show that the process to bring in a private waste management company began in June 2025 after the ministry advised local authorities to engage private players in solid waste management.
A special council meeting held on July 2, 2025 resolved that management initiate procurement processes and deal with unsolicited bids in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) Act.
“Subsequently procurement processes were initiated and three compliant bids were received in October 2025,” according to the council..
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The bids were subsequently forwarded to Zida for consideration and guidance in November 2025 following advice from the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.
Council continued engaging Zida, culminating in the submission of a prefeasibility study on June 23 this year for onward submission to the public-private partnership committee.
That committee was scheduled to deliberate on the project on September 8.
However, while council was awaiting feedback from Zida, it received what the report describes as a verbal directive from Garwe on September 10 to engage Geo Pomona.
“While awaiting a response from Zida, council on September 10, 2026 received a verbal directive from the Minister of Local Government and Public Works to engage GPWM to address solid waste management challenges,” the report said.
The sequence has put the council’s existing procurement process under the spotlight, particularly because the city had already received three compliant bids before Geo Pomona was brought into the picture.
Mayor David Coltart said the council would ensure that any arrangement complied with the Urban Councils Act, Public Finance Management Act and Zida Act.
“We will do all in our power to ensure that the dictates of the Urban Councils Act, Public Finance Management Act and the Zida Act are fully complied with,” Coltart said.
He also said council would not commit itself financially before understanding the implications of the proposed arrangement.
“We will not sign any agreement until we fully understand what the financial implications are,” he said.
The council has since moved to comply with the ministerial directive, with its management authorised to engage Geo Pomona and report back on the outcome.
The move has been criticised by residents and civic organisations, who say the urgent need to address the pollution crisis at Ngozi Mine should not come at the expense of established procurement procedures.
A coalition of residents’ and civic organisations has called for the proposed agreement to be made public and subjected to scrutiny, while also questioning why companies that participated in the council’s earlier procurement process should be bypassed.
The groups have also raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest involving Geo Pomona chief executive officer Dilesh Nguwaya, who also serves as a presidential advisor on waste management.
The Ngozi Mine crisis has intensified pressure for an immediate solution, with recurring fires, smoke and fumes affecting communities around the Richmond Landfill, including Cowdray Park, Luveve and Emakhandeni. Government has said the pollution crisis requires urgent intervention.
The latest development leaves Bulawayo facing two parallel questions on how quickly the city can address the worsening waste and pollution crisis, and how the proposed Geo Pomona arrangement will be reconciled with a procurement process that had already produced three compliant bids.
