Uganda’s Minister of State for Primary Education, Phyllis Chemutai, has expressed hope that her country could replicate Zimbabwe’s waste management model after visiting the Geo Pomona Waste Management site in Harare, where she praised the initiative as an impressive example of environmental management.

Speaking during a tour of the facility by delegates attending Africa Skills Week on Wednesday, Chemutai said she was impressed by what she had seen during her first visit to Zimbabwe and hoped Uganda could establish a similar initiative.

“I am excited to be in Zimbabwe for the first time. What we are seeing here is really marvellous. I have never seen something like this in Uganda. My prayer is one day we will do the same thing,” she said.

“I want to thank the Government of Zimbabwe for coming up with this initiative of waste management.”

The visit, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development as part of the official Africa Skills Week programme, brought together continental delegates to explore Zimbabwe’s approach to waste management and the potential for sharing technical expertise across Africa.

Geo Pomona Waste Management executive chairman, chief executive officer and special advisor to the President on waste management and environmental sustainability, Dr Dilesh Nguwaya said the facility was being positioned as a centre where Zimbabweans and other Africans could learn waste management techniques from local engineers.

“Geo Pomona is one of the legacy projects of the Second Republic under President Dr E.D. Mnangagwa,” Nguwaya said.

He said the project demonstrated the Government’s vision of showing other African countries how waste could be managed, adding that the site had undergone a transformation from a place people avoided to one attracting visitors.

Nguwaya said the facility’s infrastructure included a sorting plant and a water treatment plant, which he said met international standards for waste management.

He added that the company wanted to use the site to develop local expertise and share Zimbabwe’s experience with other African countries.

“We aim to make this site a skills centre. We intend for people in Zimbabwe, and other Africans, to learn from our local engineers and then to expand the same model to Africa as a continent,” he said.

Nguwaya said a memorandum of understanding signed on October 9 with the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development provided a framework for a proposed Centre of Excellence in Waste Management.

“Zimbabwe is now leading in waste management, and we are ready to share this best practice with other countries,” he said.

The delegates were also shown the transformation of the Geo Pomona site, which had previously been an unsightly dumpsite that nearby communities and travellers avoided.

The facility has since been revamped through work involving Zimbabwean engineers and other local personnel.

The visit formed part of efforts to showcase technical expertise and explore opportunities for skills development and knowledge-sharing among African countries.

Chemutai was among the high-level delegates attending the tour, alongside Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Minister of Education and Vocational Training Abdelkader Talebaomar.

Her remarks point to potential interest in Zimbabwe’s waste management approach, although no formal agreement for Uganda to adopt the model was announced during the visit.