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The “Own Your Doorstep” campaign was launched today to revamp Harare and retain its Sunshine City status with a call for shop owners, corporates, and other stakeholders to keep the capital clean.
In his address during the launch, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province, Hon Senator Charles Z. Tawengwa, said the initiative is in response to His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe Cde Dr E.D Mnangagwa’s “Call to Action: No compromise to service delivery” launched on the 1st of November 2023.
“Several initiatives have been set in motion since the launch of the National Clean Up campaign in 2018 by the President, which is held every first Friday of the month. In 2023, the President launched SI 140 of 2023 in response to the solid waste situation. Thereafter, came Operation Chenesa 1 in January 2024 followed by Chenesa Chapter 2 launched recently in June. All these efforts were meant to clean the environment where we all do our business and reside.
“I hope and pray that the launch of the “Own Your Doorstep”, initiative will engender an awakening of belonging. The Constitution of Zimbabwe under “Chapter 4 Part 2: Section 73″ explicitly speaks to the Right to a clean and safe environment for all Zimbabweans. What we are doing here is provided for in the Mother Law,” Hon Tawengwa said.
He said the migration of business and commerce from the CBD to other new and environmentally friendly areas such as Sam Levy Village, Madokero, and Highlands Park calls for the need to work hard to improve the ambiance of the CBD and its neighbourhoods.
Harare will host the SADC Summit in August, under the theme “Promoting innovation to unlock opportunities for sustainable economic growth and development towards an industrialized SADC”.
In that realm, Hon Tawengwa said investors shun investing in a decrepit environment.
The initiative by the City of Harare in partnership with the government and the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) is aimed at rejuvenating Harare to retain its sunshine city status.
Addressing the same gathering, the Acting Mayor of Harare, Councillor Womberaishe Nhende called upon shop owners, corporates, and other stakeholders to own the initiative to keep the City clean.
He said urban regeneration or urban redevelopment aims to revitalise the city by tackling urban decay and creating space conducive to investment.
”This can be only achieved through collaborative efforts of the Government, businesses, corporates, residents, and the City of Harare”, Councillor Nhende said.
He called upon stakeholders to adopt islands and beautify them.
The city father called on all stakeholders to adopt and actively participate in beautifying their surroundings, especially ahead of the upcoming 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit.
“Collaborative efforts in the rejuvenation of our city will help mitigate urban decay and the associated social problems. Successful urban rejuvenation requires collaboration between the government, business, council, and community members.
“I would like to urge all stakeholders to take up the initiative to green and beautify their environs ahead of the SADC Summit and to take the necessary measures to ensure sustainability after the Summit,” he added.
Representatives of the captains of industry in attendance included mobile telephony giant, NetOne; Varun Beverages; the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ); and the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (ZERA), just to mention a few.