The Visionary’s Pledge; The Driver’s Dream: How Geo Pomona is Giving Back Harare its Long-lost Identity

By Regina Pasipanodya

On November 13, 2025, the atmosphere at the Geo Pomona site felt different, lighter, and more festive.

Rows of new waste-collection trucks gleamed under the sun. Their engines were silent but full of promise.

Workers in fresh uniforms moved around them, some touching the polished metal as if to confirm it was real.

Among them was 42-year-old driver Tawanda Moyo***, a man who had experienced Harare’s waste crisis for many years and never imagined he would be part of its solution.

For Moyo, this ceremony was more than a corporate event. It was the first time in years he felt his city was waking up to itself again.

“I’ve driven trucks that broke down more than they moved,” he said, smiling in disbelief as he watched His Excellency, President Dr. Emmerson Mnangagwa unveil the huge fleet of brand-new vehicles. “Today it feels like Harare is remembering who it used to be,” he added.

His words captured the mood of the day, a blend of relief, pride, and cautious hope. At the center of this transformation stood Dr. Dilesh Nguwaya, the head of Geo Pomona Waste Management.

His vision for the project has drawn both praise and scrutiny.

A pledge under pressure

Geo Pomona Waste Management (Pvt) Ltd was established in April 2022 with a bold goal: to turn Harare’s waste crisis into an opportunity for environmental renewal and economic improvement.

From the beginning, the company embraced the globally recognized 4Rs—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover—as the foundation of its operations.But the path was never smooth.

The project faced intense media scrutiny and public doubt.

Critics questioned its feasibility and transparency.

Still, the company pressed on, driven by a mission to deliver sustainable waste solutions and contribute to Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030.

“As Geo Pomona Waste Management, our focus remains on service delivery, environmental protection, and contributing to national development,” said Dr. Nguwaya. “This project is about reclaiming Harare’s identity as a clean, modern, and functional city.”

It was a promise that needed more than words to become reality.For the workers behind him, including Tawanda, it was a commitment already taking shape. Its impact was visible in the capital’s streets and skies.

From smoke and stench to order and dignity

For decades, Pomona symbolized everything Harare was losing: order, pride, and environmental safety.

Garbage piled high.

Fires burned day and night. Toxic smoke blanketed nearby suburbs, and groundwater contamination lingered as a silent threat.

Informal waste pickers risked their lives daily in the chaotic dump.Residents like Tawanda remember those days clearly.

“You’d drive past Pomona and roll up your windows,” he said. “The smoke would choke you. The smell… you couldn’t forget it.”

A city reclaiming itself

Since Geo Pomona took over, the transformation has been clear. Fires have been put out.

Waste is now sorted instead of dumped.

The site, once a sign of dysfunction, now pulses with the rhythm of a modern facility.

For many Harareans, this change is more than environmental—it’s emotional. It signals a city rediscovering its long-lost identity as a place of beauty, order, and pride.

Beyond the trucks and the cleaned-up site, the project has quietly reshaped livelihoods.

The new waste-sorting plant provides safer, more reliable access to recyclables for small entrepreneurs, while new jobs in logistics, maintenance, and administration open doors for many.

The visionary and the cityDuring the unveiling ceremony, Dr. Nguwaya walked among the workers, shaking hands, listening, and nodding.

Despite the controversies surrounding him, his vision for the project is clear: a modern waste-management and power-generation system that sets a regional standard.

“To be Southern Africa’s first, best, and most efficient waste-management and power-generation project,” he said, “is not just a corporate goal.

It is a national responsibility.”

For Harare, a city long burdened by dysfunction, that vision feels like a lifeline. For drivers like Tawanda, it’s a dream finally taking shape on the roads they know best.