BULAWAYO — Bulawayo City Council’s Town Clerk’s Department has recommended that the municipality comply with Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe’s directive to engage Geo Pomona Waste Management (GPWM) to address the city’s worsening solid waste management crisis.

The recommendation is contained in a memo dated September 14, 2026, and addressed to Mayor David Coltart and councillors by Town Clerk Christopher Dube’s department.

The directive comes as the city grapples with the crisis at Richmond Landfill, where burning waste has raised serious public health concerns and intensified pressure on council to find an urgent solution to its waste management problems.

In the memo titled “Ministerial Directive to Engage Geo Pomona Waste Management (GPWM),” the Town Clerk’s Department recommends that council formally authorise management to engage the Harare-based waste management company.

The department also wants management to report back to council on the outcome of those engagements.

“It is recommended that,

1. Council comply with the Ministers directive to engage GPWM

2. Council grants Management authority to engage GPWM.

3. Management reports back to Council on the engagement done with GPWM,” the memo states.

The recommendation follows a ministerial circular issued in June 2025 advising local authorities to engage private players in solid waste management.

According to the memo, council subsequently held a special meeting on July 2, 2025, where it resolved that management should initiate procurement processes to engage private operators and deal with unsolicited bids in terms of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Act, Chapter 14:37.

The municipality later initiated procurement processes and received three compliant bids in October 2025. The bids were forwarded to the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) in November 2025 for consideration and guidance, following advice from the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.

Council’s engagement with ZIDA continued, with the last communication involving the submission of a prefeasibility study on June 23, 2026, for onward submission to the Public-Private Partnership committee.

The committee was scheduled to deliberate on the proposal on September 8, 2026.

However, while council was awaiting a response from ZIDA, it received a verbal directive from Minister Garwe on September 10 to engage GPWM to address the city’s solid waste management challenges.

The Town Clerk’s Department has now placed the matter before the mayor and councillors for consideration, potentially paving the way for council management to begin formal engagements with Geo Pomona.

The recommendation comes at a critical juncture for Bulawayo, where the deteriorating conditions at Richmond Landfill have heightened concerns over waste disposal, air pollution and the potential impact on residents’ health.