Residents of the northern neighborhoods of the capital complain about the absence of BCCO company to remove household waste as agreed. The administration says it is Bujumbura city council’s responsibility.

In Muyinga area, 4th Avenue of the Kinama area, children play by the side of the road while their mothers wash clothes. A few meters away, household wastes. Some in plastic bags, others in bags stored not far from their plots. Anitha Harerimana, one of the mothers says angrily: “If nothing is done as soon as possible, we will catch diseases caused by these wastes.”

And for good reason, she explains, the agents of Bujumbura Cleaning Company (BCCO), responsible for taking away household waste, have not been on the spot for a month. As a result, bags filled with garbage of all kinds are found inside the plots, along the roadsides and almost everywhere. “People do not have where to put them.”

In Kamenge, the situation is similar. Waste is scattered everywhere. Some do not hesitate to throw them in gutters built by CNTB, when paving roads. Clement Mbonyingingo from Kavumu neighborhood does not beat around the bush: “I have never seen anyone come to collect the waste, but I pay BIF 2000 to BCCO agents per month since last July.”

So, he gives between BIF 500 and BIF1000 to a person will help him get rid of the wastes. “I do not know where he’s going to throw them but that’s not my problem. “Same as the fruit vendors and other restaurant owners in Teza locality, near the place commonly known as “Terminus bus”.

“I have no choice but to pay people who carry the wastes with a wheelbarrow. It’s expensive, but at least it keeps this place clean, “says G.M., owner of a restaurant at the 12th Avenue.

“I saw them only once for three months”

He also says this company has not been able to accomplish the task it had set itself: “I saw them only once for three months. “The association that collected the waste since 2015 did it well and at a lower cost:” I used to give them BIF1500 a month and they removed this waste once a week, while the BCCO is asking us BIF2000 per month and only shows up once a month. ”

This opinion is shared by the people of Kinama locality. According to them, those who dealt with safety before BCCO did it better and were well organized. “They came with carts every week whereas not only BCCO agents don’t pick up the garbage, but also have the audacity to show up with receipt books to collect the money. Residents say it is a scam.

Contacted, Eddy Paul Hakizimana, communal administrator of Ntahangwa, refused to comment, simply sending us back to the mayor of Bujumbura, who signed a contract with Bujumbura Cleaning Company. Iwacu contacted BCCO officials and the mayor of the city but to no avail.

However, Magnus Patrice Nyandwi, a supervisor of work at BCCO, had reassured on radio in late September that BCCO agents are working to make the city of Bujumbura clean and attractive.

At the time, he said that the company had 25 trucks to pick up the waste to the dump and agents to collect the waste. Concerning the reasons why the company does not do its job as it should in the northern neighborhoods of the capital, Mr Nyandwi said it’s due to the non-payment by the beneficiaries of the amount of BIF2000: “In Kinama area, of 13,288 households, 1121 have paid. This affects the quality of our services, “he said.

As a reminder, the mayor of Bujumbura city announced during a safety meeting that the removal of household wastes will be entrusted to the municipal cooperatives from October.

“We have just spent more than two months without seeing garbage collectors,” complains Innocent, a resident of Jabe, Bwiza area in Mukaza commune. He says the decomposition of household wastes in their plots causes a nauseating odor, a swarm of maggots. A similar situation with another city inhabitant of 8th Avenue in Bwiza.

He says he has never seen a truck from the Bujumbura Cleaning Company (BCCO) coming to collect the waste. “I paid BIF 2000 as surety.” He feared the outbreak of diseases caused by dirt such as cholera. This resident said they were promised that household waste would be taken away at least once a month with the payment of the surety.

In the districts of Nyakabiga and Buyenzi, inhabitants lament. “It’s better to let the former associations take care of waste collection,” says Bukuru, a young groom from Nyakabiga. He says that prior to BCCO’s arrival; garbage collectors would come at least once in two weeks. “And the payment was made directly and according to the volume of waste.” According to him, several plots now look like dumps. They do not know where to put the waste. Others throw them during the night into the gutters or into the Ntahangwa River. He does not understand why the collection and management of waste is no longer ensured by the SETEMU.

For Idrissa, a resident of Buyenzi, household waste has become a source of wealth for some authorities. “The management of waste began to get complicated when the city council took this task from the SETEMU. He wondered why each new mayor brings his own associations or cooperatives. Instead of strengthening the SETEMU, or building modern garbage dumps, he explains, all one sees is the rise in conflicts of interest.

He says many people put their garbage bags around the avenues while waiting for the BCCO trucks, but to no avail. And with the rain, they end up in the gutters, thus releasing a foul odor in the neighborhoods.
As for Rohero II, a head of household ensures that the truck passes at least twice a month.

Mrs Esperance, a bar owner in the same area, states: “We have no problem with waste management. The trucks pass regularly to take them away. “This 40-year-old woman did not comment on the amount paid. “What’s essential is that the waste is removed.”

Piles of rubbish here and there, garbage bags, household waste thrown into pipes, and so on. This is all you can see in the streets of Kanyosha area.

Some residents of Kanyosha area denounce a dispossession on the part of Bujumbura Cleaning Company Services (BCCO) to which the municipal authorities have recently granted a monopoly on the collection of household waste.

L. N., a resident of Musama neighborhood, says he pays a company that does not fulfill its obligations as agreed. He pays BIF3000 per month and in return, the new company must normally come twice a month to collect the garbage. “Yet it’s been three weeks since I’ve seen them.” He’s now paying for a worker. He denounced speculation on the part of the municipal authorities: “A single company cannot replace 18 associations.”

Others argue that they are unable to pay their contributions. “We are struggling to provide for our children,” said Niyukuri Marianne, met in Gasarara Avenue in Kajiji district on Monday (October 9th). She burns the trash in her house as is the case in her neighborhood. She also said there are some who throw waste into trenches. “During the rainy season, they are washed away by the waters.” The contribution of each household is BIF 2, 000 per month for the inhabitants of this neighborhood.

It is in Gisyo locality where the waste collected in this neighborhood is transported. Mountains of rubbish rise in an immense ravine situated a few meters away from habitable houses. Children who were on site in the early morning of Monday, October 9, looking for food remains, indicate that it has been more than a month the waste has not been taken away. They say they do not know why.

What about Musaga and Kinindo neighborhoods?

The situation is a bit good in other areas. People in Musaga area organize themselves for the management of household waste. According to several sources contacted, the BCCO has been absent in this area for a few weeks. They pay for their own labor.

B. K, who lives on the 1st avenue, deplores the fact that the latter are not concerned with the protection of the environment. They throw the filth into the pipes. Mpimba, a brook that crosses this area, is their destination. This 40-year-old man calls for the reorganization of the waste collection service.

He believes that the municipal technical services (SETEMU) cannot cover the entire capital unless they are reorganized: “This service must remain public, otherwise speculation of any kind is highly likely.”
Thierry Nahimana, a resident of Musaga neighborhood, says: “Only the Setemu are capable of ensuring adequate sanitation in the city of Bujumbura. Mr. Nahimana advises the authorities to equip this company with new equipment. “The city is expanding day by day and salubriousness needs follow the curve.”

In Kinindo area, BCCO honors its commitment, says Charles Nkurunziza, a resident of this neighborhood. He speaks of a good contract: “It’s BIF 7000 while others in neighboring areas pay BIF3000 or even BIF 4000.” He says he will not give a penny if BBCO does not honor the contract: “It’s four times a month.”

Another resident of the same neighborhood, who spoke on condition of anonymity, mentioned the Association Tumenye Sida (ATS), another organization that handles waste collection. “With BIF 10,000 per month, ATS employees come once a month to collect the garbage.”
Contacted, the administrator of Muha commune sent us back to the authorities of Bujumbura city.

Before being thrown away, there must first be a selection between the wastes that are biodegradable and those which are non-degradable. This is a completely different situation at the Buterere garbage dump.*

Women search through the debris to find the remains of food, children stirring carefully in the hope of catching any metal, bags, cans and other plastic products. This is the daily scene in Buterere area.
In these garbage mountains, people are so busy that they no longer smell the foul odors. Another scene is observed when a truck comes to unload wastes. Even if it brings products from the cement factory or pharmaceutical ones, there is no sorting.

The crowd rushes into it, hoping to find something to eat.

Yet, these people know that it is not without risk of rummaging with their bare hands and without mask in these wastes. Besides being exposed mainly to dirt-caused diseases, they are prone to all kinds of bacterial infections, syringes capable of piercing their skins, etc. “But, how to give up when the place has become their daily source of livelihood,” explains Claver Bizimana, a bicycle driver who collects plastic bags from there. He sells them to candle makers at BIF350 per kg and manages to make a living for his family.

The same goes for Béatrice Ndayizeye, mother of 5 children. Destitute, every morning, she rises in the hope of finding sweet potatoes or potatoes to feed her offspring. “This is proof that the landfill helps a lot of people earn a living, but its exploitation should be restructured for the environmental protection and more profitability, “says Jacques Nkengurutse, vice-president of ACVE (Green Belt Action for the Environment).

Small gestures that save the environment …

For him, awareness-raising must be done first. He explains that households, schools, penitentiary institutions, hospitals and industries must have this good habit of sorting waste. He says biodegradable and non-degradable waste should be separated by being put into two different bins, what would make it possible to distinguish between plastic bags and metals that can be recycled from waste remains that can be transformed into organic manure.

He notes that when the grassroots communities are imbued with these good actions that save the environment, it is the whole problem of the environment that will be solved. “I even bet that this garbage dump would no longer have to be.

With recycling industries, all the waste would be transformed. He said:” It would be a golden opportunity for all the people who wake up early in the morning to search for different things because these industries would contribute to the creation of jobs.”

The landfill is located near the urban perimeter and its water table is less than two meters away. Mr. Nkengurutse believes that the government should do whatever it takes and as soon as possible to relocate it.

“With the rise in pollution and the risks of the deterioration of the quality of the water, it is a necessity. He warns of the direct consequences of Lake Tanganyika pollution: “Look at the place called Ku Mase, it’s become a dump. If nothing is done in the immediate future, there is a risk of conflict with the neighboring DRC as REGIDESO will be forced to draw water from its area.”

Moreover, the activist emphasizes that the beautiful beaches of Lake Tanganyika are threatened with extinction and recalls that the hills remain good sites for landfills.