The Mayor of Bujumbura released on 17 October a list of more than 10 associations and cooperatives that won the market to dispose of solid waste in two communes of Bujumbura capital.
Mubone official dump in Butere
This measure is taken following the grumblings of Bujumbura inhabitants who said that the waste is no longer removed from households. They accuse the only company that until now had the monopoly to remove solid waste in the capital Bujumbura of being unable to do its job.
In June 2017, the mayor of Bujumbura, Freddy Mbonimpa granted the monopoly to remove solid waste from the capital to Bujumbura Cleaning Company (BCCO) and terminated the contract with 18 other associations.
“We had given the market to a single company called BCCO for removing solid waste. After having evaluated its work, we detected some irregularities. That is the reason why we have launched an open call for interested companies to submit their tenders. Depending on the terms of reference, we chose some companies, “he says.
The Mayor says he plans to hold meetings with the representatives of these selected companies and local administrative officials to discuss when they start the activities. “We want those companies to start removing solid waste in some areas of Bujumbura before the end of the week,” says Mbonimpa.
The management of waste material will be carried out professionally since each household will pay the company, according to him. He says that each company will sign a contract with Bujumbura Technical Services (SETEMU), the manager of the official dump of Mubone, in Buterere zone. “Each company will pay BIF 1500 per cubic meter,” he says.
Removing waste material is a prerequisite for the environment protection
Emmanuel Ndorimana, Director General of Water and Sanitation at the Ministry of Environment believes that removing solid waste from Bujumbura neighborhoods is a priority. “We are facing the danger of having waste material and dumps inside the neighborhoods, “says Ndorimana.
He says the Buterere dump is not appropriate since according to him, the water table at this place is less than one meter and is an open air. “We’re afraid of contaminating the water table,” he says.
The Ministry had set up a sustainable waste management project. The latter would build three transit sites in Buterere, Mpimba and Kanyosha. “We were planning to build a controlled waste dump in Muzinda, Rugazi Commune, Province Bubanza,”says Ndorimana.
Unfortunately, this project whose 80% of funding would be covered by the Dutch support program (ORIO), has been suspended because of the European Union’s decision to cut off direct aid to the Government of Burundi.
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