By Tendai Chisiri
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ)’s media tour in Chitungwiza on Friday painted and portrayed a picture of EMA bringing sanity to the community’s environmental challenges as they ordered the local authority to rein in.
Journalists visited 3 sites in Chitungwiza centred on 3 thematic issues which are, invasion of wetlands, sewer discharge and illegal sand mining.
Environmental Management Agency Provincial Manager, Robson Mavondo said the shifting of Chitungwiza community from Mash East Province into Harare Province is a step change as this necessitated Harare’s dormitory town to be improved with regards to causes of damaged environment.
Chitungwiza Municipality has been ordered by EMA to find alternative place to relocate families affected by the invasion of wetlands. According to environment regulations, building houses within 30 metres from stream banks is prohibited. Unscrupulously some residents were allocated stands within the 30 metres from a stream bank in Gomba area of Zengeza 4.”During the rainy season, the houses are flooded depicting the dangers of building on a wetland”, he said. Robson Mavondo also advised that wetlands were for low impact projects like golf courses and entertainment facilities if need for them to be utilised arise.
The causes of sewer discharge to the environment is the unavailability of the Municipality to respond quickly to the sewer bursts.Still in Zengeza 4, a sewer burst was left unattended for more than 2 years and EMA’s intervention helped the residents to live in a clean environment .
Tsitsi Nyamayaro, a Zengeza 4 resident narrated their ordeal before EMA’s inspection to the media .” The worrisome part to the sewer burst from the tank was of children playing barefoot in the sewerage swamps”, she said. Mavondo concurred that they alerted the Municipality whose mandate is to start rehabilitating before 24 hours from time of receiving the order.
The illegal sand extraction site shows how the environment becomes haphazard if the pits are not refilled with rubbles.”The place was owned by Chivhanga but due to the inefficiency of not refilling the pits, we didn’t renew the licence”, he revealed.Pits have been left not refilled and mining the place would be illegal.” We have managed 10 blitz conducted jointly with Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and 80 poachers were apprehended with 113 trucks impounded “, he told the media. ” Sand poaching is not causing land degradation only but is also a cause on our infrastructure “, he noted. EMA Educational Officer Batsirai Sibanda said they do awareness campaigns in communities and engage school talks for the residents to know the environmental rights.” We are pleased that the residents are now aware of their environmental rights here in Chitungwiza”, she said.
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