FORMER Mt Pleasant legislator, Fadzayi Mahere has questioned the legitimacy of Geo Pomona's recent move to assume public waste management responsibilities and directly engage with residents in Harare, describing it as legally invalid.
Geo Pomona, whose Netherlands-registered parent company, Geogenix BV, was contracted by the City of Harare (CoH) in 2022 under the then Ministry of Local Government, led by Winston Chitando (now Mines and Mining Minister).
The company was registered by Mirel Mërtiri, an Albanian businessman linked to corruption in his home country. Its Executive Chairman and CEO, Delish Nguwaya, is a regular attendee at state functions and is known to be a close associate of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's son, Sean Mnangagwa.
Nguwaya was previously charged with corruption over Covid-19 procurement contracts involving his company, Drax International, in 2020, but was acquitted by court in September 2023.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
"They have no legal mandate to independently take over public waste management under our law," Mahere posted on her X account on Wednesday.
Mahere, a constitutional lawyer, argued that Geo Pomona should not impose itself on residents, as their obligations lie with the CoH, not individual households.
"They are not a statutory body. At best, if they have a contract with City of Harare, they are the city's agent. This means that the City of Harare is the principal and public facing party with Geo Pomona working under them as an agent. They cannot do their business independently of the city and force themselves onto people with whom they have no legal relationship."
Mahere questioned Geo Pomona's authority to bill residents directly, stating that the company lacks the legal basis to do so.
"For the avoidance of doubt, they have no right to bill or otherwise engage residents directly absent a valid agreement with individual residents to do so. Only the City of Harare can do that in line with its powers as a local authority under Zimbabwe's local government laws," she said.
Geo Pomona is set to receive over US$162 million from the CoH over five years, with ratepayers ultimately footing the bill.
The 30-year agreement stipulated that Harare must deliver 550 tonnes of waste, or a minimum of 200,750 tonnes per year, resulting in US$8.03 million for the company in the first year.
However, due to a shortage of refuse trucks and regular fuel supply issues, the CoH has struggled to meet the agreed tonnage.This has opened doors for Geo Pomona to potentially take control of the entire waste management process, from street sweeping and refuse collection to waste disposal thereby billing residents directly.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
