Groups call for due process as Bulawayo seeks long-term solution to Ngozi Mine landfill
Image Source: Bulawayo24 News
BULAWAYO, 14 September 2026 — Civil society organisations, stakeholders and residents of Bulawayo are calling on authorities to follow the legal and procurement route in addressing the city’s waste-management crisis, while continuing urgent interventions at Richmond Landfill, commonly known as Ngozi Mine.
The call comes after a directive by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works requiring the City of Bulawayo to finalise a Memorandum of Agreement with Geo Pomona Waste Management within one week.
The groups said urgency should not be used as a basis for bypassing legal, procurement and governance safeguards.
“Urgency and due process are not mutually exclusive,” they said, arguing that any long-term intervention must be lawful, transparent, accountable, financially responsible and in the public interest.
The organisations said the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act [Chapter 22:23] provides the framework governing public procurement by local authorities and allows alternative procurement methods in specified circumstances.
They therefore called for authorities to clearly identify the legal basis for whichever procurement method is being considered, particularly if an exceptional method is being justified by the urgency of the Ngozi Mine crisis.
They also called for clarity on the City’s existing waste-management procurement processes, including previous Expressions of Interest and any evaluations, recommendations or decisions that followed.
According to the groups, if an existing process has been discontinued, suspended or superseded, the City and relevant authorities should explain the legal and factual basis for that decision.
Beyond procurement, the organisations called for greater transparency around any proposed long-term waste-management agreement.
They said residents should, to the extent permitted by law, be informed about the agreement’s duration and scope, financial implications and funding model, obligations of the parties, service-delivery standards, ownership and control of infrastructure, payment or tariff arrangements, termination provisions and potential liabilities.
They further called for meaningful public participation before the City assumes substantial long-term financial or service-delivery obligations, where such consultation or approval is required by law.
The groups also urged the authorities to distinguish between emergency intervention and the procurement of a long-term waste-management solution.
They said immediate and lawful measures to address fires, pollution, health hazards and environmental degradation at Ngozi Mine should continue while authorities work towards a sustainable long-term solution.
The organisations called on the City of Bulawayo, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe and other relevant authorities to ensure that any ministerial instruction affecting procurement is handled in accordance with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act, including the accountability procedures under Section 16 where applicable.
The organisations calling for due processes to occur include Ibhetshu Likazulu, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association, Constitution Defenders Forum, Defend the Constitution Platform, SWITA, Habakkuk Trust, Bulawayo Waste Management Traders Association, Public Policy Research Institute of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Organization, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) and Cowdray Park Residents.
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