BULAWAYO waste collectors say they are optimistic that the recently sworn-in councillors will be drivers of change which will see them being recognised and included in the city’s service delivery matrix.
In an interview with Southern Eye, Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) co-ordinator Khumbulani Maphosa said: “From the engagements we have had, there is common belief that this new crop of councillors will take time to listen to waste pickers in the city, because that is what they want, they want to be heard and they need policies that also incorporate them.”
MIHR recently took the plight of waste collectors and slum dwellers to the global arena when it joined hundreds of water and sanitation practitioners from across the world at the All Systems Connect 2023 symposium recently held in The Hague, Netherlands.
“We believe that the new crop of councillors is different. We believe that these are officials who have the people’s interests at heart and will take time to meet waste collectors and listen to their issues.
“There is great expectation on our new mayor. There are efforts to meet the mayor and it is our hope that we will succeed and present our issues to him because we need policies that integrate waste pickers,” added Maphosa.
Last year, 236 Bulawayo female waste collectors petitioned the council demanding an amendment to refuse removal by-laws, which do not recognise their service.
