Nation counts cost of raging veld fires
“I’ve never been so helpless in my life. There was no way I was going to put out that fire with a bucket and tap water. I had moved our cars but was ready to watch our house burn to ashes because there was nothing I could’ve done to save the situation had the fire fighters not come in time,” she said.
Many are not as lucky. Unlike Mrs Ndlovu, they do not live to tell the story.
Veld fires have affected many areas across the country and are threatening to wipe out grazing for livestock.
They have destroyed property worth thousands of dollars and threaten to destroy more unless efforts are made to curb these veld fires.
Several people have been killed by veld fires since the start of the fire season in July.
Mrs Phindile Moyo of Zimdabule Village in Umguza died while cutting grass in her plot when she found herself surrounded by a fire which came from a neighbouring plot.
In another incident, Mr Khondanani Lungu of Ward 8 at Plot 16 in Umguza died when a fire broke out when he was in the field. He allegedly tried to put it out alone but it overwhelmed him.
“I wish we knew who is starting these fires. We only get calls to attend to fires but never catch the culprits who start them. Lives are being lost to these veld fires, our animals are dying, property worth thousands of dollars is being lost and our grazing lands are being depleted,” said a fire fighter only identified as Ngwenya who was battling to put out a veld fire behind Mrs Ndlovu’s house.
He said the Hwange fire department had of late been inundated with calls to attend to fires across the district and this was a worrying trend.
“If Mrs Ndlovu hadn’t called us in good time, we could’ve been talking of a different story right now. Most people don’t react swiftly in such situations. They wait until it’s too late. We often find someone burnt or killed by the fire or property destroyed,” said Ngwenya.
Many people have over the years been arrested for starting veld fires but it seems the punishment being meted out is not deterrent enough hence the increase in cases of veld fires. The Environmental Management Agency’s educational campaigns are ongoing but it seems those starting veld fires do not appreciate the adverse effects of these fires to the environment, livestock, game and people.
Parliamentarians recently called for deterrent sentences for people who start veld fires which have destroyed almost one million hectares of land across the country this year.
At present, culprits get away with fines or suspended sentences.
Mudzi West Member of Parliament Cde Magna Mudyiwa moved a motion to amend the legislative framework that deals with veld fires so that it provides for stiffer custodial sentences for people who start fires.
“Particularly this year, the 2016/2017 season, we received plenty of rainfall, normal to above normal as a result of Tropical Cyclone Dineo. The rains supported the growth of vegetation, which translates to high loads of fuel with a high probability of 80 percent of veld fire outbreaks in the country,” said Cde Mudyiwa.
“What we’ve witnessed in the country are fierce wild fires because of the standing vegetation, hence the need for us as a nation to guard against this menace.”
He said most causes of veld fires are anthropogenic, which means they originate from human activities.
The Environmental Management Act criminalises the starting of fires during the fire season and it is an offence to pass by or drive past a veld fire without reporting it to relevant authorities.
This piece of legislation criminalises the failure to put in place standard fire guards which are at least nine metres wide at farms.