Houghton Park residents up in arms with steelmaker

BATTLELINES have been drawn between Houghton Park residents in Harare and a steel manufacturing company which they accuse of polluting the air through heavy smoke emissions.

The company, Steel Brands operates a heavy industrial business in a residential set-up, allegedly with the blessing of Harare City Council.

However, residents are crying foul over the decision by the local authority to allocate the company land to manufacture steel in the area, saying it puts their health at risk.

They are demanding an urgent halt to the company’s operations.

“Steel Brands smelting steel plant is emitting toxic gases in Houghton Park residential area, while people are sleeping during this COVID-19 period. Can people survive while inhaling this deadly gas destroying their respiratory system? We pray that God will intervene,” lamented a resident, who requested anonymity.

Efforts to get a comment from the Harare City Council were fruitless yesterday as the local authority’s spokesperson Michael Chideme’s mobile phone was unreachable.

However, the Environment Management Agency (Ema) head of public relations, Amkela Sidange told NewsDay that the agency was seized with the matter.

“Recurring complaints and enforcement have been the order of the day for Steel Brands. I once pounced on their nocturnal operations after ad-hoc monitoring and they were reprimanded and Steel Brands is now under surveillance by Ema. Our Harare province is already on the case. Like I said this is a hotspot on pollution, and is under constant surveillance by the agency,” Sidange said.

The residents claim that the emissions have an unbearably choking smell, but surprisingly, Ema gave some legitimacy to the company’s operations saying the residents were safe.

Although the company management could not be reached for comment, Steel Brands health, environment and quality manager Renias Zireva last year said besides Ema, two independent companies were engaged to test their emissions and it was established that they were within an acceptable range.