3 Residents Sue Harare Over Uncollected GarbageSome Harare residents have filed an application at the High Court seeking an order to compel the City of Harare and Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo to collect refuse and clear all dumpsites that have accumulated in all wards in Zimbabwe’s capital city. In the application, the residents who live in Mbare, Highfield and Mabvuku and are represented by Paidamoyo Saurombe of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, protested that as faithful ratepayers, they are affected by the non-collection of refuse and yet the City of Harare still charges them for garbage collection. The residents - Juliet Chatambudza, Soul Gurudza and Spiwe Guwa - stated that refuse collection has become erratic in the capital city and they are now providing refuse bins for themselves and yet they used to receive them from City of Harare. Chatambudza, Gurudza and Guwa said due to the non-collection of refuse, residents had resorted to dumping garbage in their suburbs which is piling up in huge refuse dumps. The residents argued that the city is unjustly enriching itself at their expense by continuing to demand payments for collection of refuse while neglecting to remove garbage thereby infringing on their rights as provided in Section 73 of the Constitution. As a result of the non-collection of refuse, the residents argue that they are suffering from dysentery and other diseases caused by the health hazard. Chatambudza, Gurudza and Guwa argued that the City of Harare has an obligation to collect refuse from their residences and to clear dumpsites that have accumulated in the suburbs. As a remedy, the residents want the city to be ordered by the High Court to clear all garbage at dumpsites, to publish a refuse collection timetable in newspapers and on its social media platforms and to collect it in accordance with the timetable it would have published. Council officials were unreachable for comment late Tuesday evening. Source: Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights