Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume endorsed a deal for Geo Pomona to take over waste collection, despite opposition from councillors.
The Ministry of Local Government approved Geo Pomona’s management of refuse collection in Harare, with Mafume supporting the agreement. As part of the deal, the company will also take on City Council workers.
However, council minutes from December 2024 show that the Harare City Council’s Environmental Management Committee rejected the proposed takeover. Reads the minutes:
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That Council affirms its previous decision recorded under Item 5 of the Minutes of this Committee dated 25th September 2024 that Council does not agree with the takeover of the waste management function including personnel, vehicles and equipment by Central Government but is open for dialogue with the relevant Ministry.
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Despite objections from councillors, Mayor Mafume went ahead with the deal, supported by Minister Daniel Garwe, who backed the agreement between the City Council and Geo Pomona Waste Management, led by Delish Nguwaya.
Council minutes show that councillors were shocked when the agreement was made public without a formal council resolution. Reads the minutes:
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Council now discussed the matter with a member reporting that residents were alleging that they had seen His Worship, the Mayor on social media signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Geo Pomona Waste Management (Pvt) Ltd (Geo Pomona) when Council did not have a resolution granting authority for the MOU.
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The decision to let Geo Pomona take over waste collection has been criticized by residents, who feel such deals are imposed on them without consultation. They worry these agreements could lead to corruption among top officials.
Initially, Mafume opposed giving Geo Pomona control over the city’s dumping sites but has since changed his position, agreeing to work with the company to clear the sites.
According to council minutes, when asked about the deal, Mafume said the government had declared waste management a national disaster.
He said that after the City of Harare requested help from the Ministry of Local Government, the government responded by involving the private sector, choosing Geo Pomona Waste Management to assist.
Mafume added that the deal involves the Ministry of Local Government, Geo Pomona, and the City of Harare, with no financial cost to the city.
Once the deal is fully operational, Geo Pomona will collect 650 tonnes of refuse daily, charging US$40 per tonne.
More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/harare-mayor-mafume-defied-council-to-endorse-controversial-multi-million-dollar-geo-pomona-deal/">NewZimbabwe.com</a>

Pindula News

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume approved a deal for Geo Pomona to collect waste in the city, even though council members disagreed. The Ministry of Local Government supported the agreement, which will also involve City Council workers. Despite objections, Mayor Mafume and Minister Daniel Garwe backed the deal. Residents are worried about corruption and lack of consultation in such agreements. Mafume says the government declared waste management a national disaster and chose Geo Pomona to help for free. Once fully operational, Geo Pomona will collect 650 tonnes of waste daily and charge $40 per tonne.

Harare Mayor Mafume Approved Geo Pomona Waste Deal Despite Councillors' Objections

Harare mayor Jacob Mafume has said the government has stopped billing the Harare City Council under the Pomona waste-to-energy management deal.
Under the controversial Pomona deal, the local authority was obligated to pay at least US$22 000 per day to the Netherlands-based company Geogenix BV for waste dumped at the site.
The City of Harare was expected to pay more than US$344 million for the 30 years that the deal with Geogenix BV was supposed to run.
If the local authority cancelled the deal, it was going to pay Geogenix BV US$3.5 million for breach of contract.
But speaking to <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200008436/govt-stops-billing-hcc-over-pomona-waste">NewsDay</a> on Monday, Mafume said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development was now paying the bill. He said:
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We no longer think about the Pomona waste management deal. Government has stopped billing us.
It is now Ncube’s headache and we don’t bother about it. I think they have surrendered it.
It has been finalised and it is now Ncube’s obligation after we indicated that we are not going to pay anything.
Even if they decide to bill us today, we will just forward the bill to the Ministry of Finance.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pomona Dumpsite: Govt Stops Billing City Of Harare

More than 1 000 people who have been picking and selling garbage from Pomona Dumpsite have expressed anxiety over the possibility that they will be evicted from the place.
They have been staying at the Pomona Dumpsite where the government intends to implement a waste-to-energy project. 
The squatters say their livelihoods would be affected if Geo Pomona goes ahead with threats to chase them away. Mike Chabarwa, one of the pickers told <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/more-than-a-thousand-pickers-living-off-pomona-dumpsite-fret-over-imminent-eviction/">NewZimbabwe</a>:
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They have threatened to give us an eviction notice, but most of us here have nowhere to go.
This is where all my life is. I have been staying here since 2008, where do you want me to go?
Harare City Council was way better than Geo Pomona because they allowed us to pick and sell the trash for US$50 a month per person, with the massive numbers which l estimate to be around 1,500. There are lots of people around this place.
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The Minister of Social Amenities, Daniel Garwe, said the government had already started constructing houses in Dzivarasekwa where the pickers would be relocated.
He estimated that there were 512 people at the site. Garwe also said the people who built houses in wetlands on river banks were going to be relocated as well. 
The Netherlands-registered Geo Pomona Waste Management Pvt Ltd was given the contract to turn waste into energy for the next 30 years taking the dumpsite from Harare City Council.
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