The Sunday Mail
Linda Mzapi
Those who litter public places in Harare will now be imprisoned for 15 days and in other cases have their vehicles impounded, according to new regulations published on Friday.
Impounded vehicles that remain unclaimed for three months will be auctioned and the proceeds banked in a special council account.
Statutory Instrument 30 of 2016 (Harare Anti-litter By-laws) was approved by Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere.
The instrument defines litter as “any container, wrappings, plastic paper, cartons, cigarette packets, paper, vegetable matter, garden waste, hedge clippings, dead animals, ash, tins, rubbish, bricks, stone, rubble, soil and any other matter or substance which is unwholesome, offensive or untidy”.
It reads: “4 (1) No person shall deposit or abandon, or cause, or permit to be deposited or abandoned any form of litter in a public place. (2) An authorised person shall request any person who, in his or her opinion, appears to be contravening or to have contravened any provisions of these by laws, to remove such litter and immediately order such people or persons to pay the prescribed fine not exceeding level three.
“(3) Where any person so ordered to remove litter in terms of sub-section (2) is a body corporate and refuses to comply with the order of the authorised person, the council shall immediately impound the vehicle used to dump the litter and thereupon proceed to remove the litter: Provided that the council shall recover such removal charges as may from time to time be prescribed by council, from such person.”
Owners of impounded vehicles are required to pay a fine.
“Any person who — (a) deposits or abandons or causes or permits to be deposited or abandoned any form of litter in terms of section 4 (1); or
“(b) refuses to comply with an instruction issued by an authorised person in terms of section 4(2); or
“(c) obstructs, or impedes or refuses to comply with a request of an authorised person in terms of section 6; or
“(d) fails to comply with the requirements of Section7;
“Shall be guilty of an offence and liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding level five or 15 days imprisonment or to both such fine and imprisonment.”
