SAND-POACHERS PUT LIVES AT RISK:
There are times when rains bring life, but there are also times when people just wish them away.
ZIMBABWE has received normal to above normal rains and the sense of relief after serious droughts, the last being the severest in 35 years, the joy associated with the rains has since disappeared. Harare South residents living in areas ravaged by illegal sand poachers have become disillusioned as the rains pound on.
Cursed by the presence of Mukuvisi River, which cuts through their dwellings, the residents now fear for their lives.
The main reason being ditches and trenches dug by those looking for pit sand to sell and brick moulders.
The most affected residential areas in Harare include Retreat, Southlea Park, Southgate, Stoneridge and Hopley Farm.
A visit to the one of the areas leaves one under the impression that people were settled in a former mine area abandoned after heavy excavation.
The Herald visited some of these newly established residential areas, with people indicating that the rains are a double-edged sword to them - providing water for daily chores while endangering lives and property.
Mr Anderson Mangara of Hopley Farm said there are stories of people drowning in the pits.
“Every rainy season we hear stories of people falling into the pits, not all of them end well,” he said. “There are no roads in our community and it’s difficult to tell where the ground is even.
“Drunkards have been victims of these menacing pits and some have died as they head home from beerhalls.”
In one extreme incident, he said, residents witnessed an unsuspecting driver falling into a ditch with his car.
Efforts by the residents to reprimand the sand poachers have not been successful.
“Telling them of the dangers of what they are doing does not yield any positive responses,” said Mr Mangara. “They just claim that there are no jobs and this is the only way to put food on the table for their families.”
Mr Mangara said brick moulding and pit sand extraction was a source of livelihood in the area.
Besides the dangerous pits, unprotected wells also pose a danger to residents.
Mrs Jasemine Chinguwa of Southgate said children are at risk from the unprotected wells.
“A toddler once drowned in a well which was covered by a plastic and a loose metal sheet,” she said.
Mrs Chinguwa, however, cited negligence by parents as a contributory factor to children drowning.
“If you have an unprotected well or a ditch near your house, you should always have your eye on children to avoid incidents where they may drown,” she said.
Mrs Jane Muronzi from Southlea Park urged residents to desist from sinking wells if they did not have enough resources to build safe wells.
“If you see that you do not have adequate funds to have a protected well with a proper slab and a lid, it is better not to build one and save lives,” Mrs Muronzi said.
Harare South has become susceptible to the deadly circumstances because it is made up mainly of new residential areas where there is still a lot of construction work.
The area is yet to get fully serviced roads, drainage and water systems.
Harare South legislator Cde Shadreck Mashayamombe implored the Environmental Management Agency to step up efforts in fighting illegal extraction of pit sand in his constituency.
“We call upon EMA to scale up its efforts in ensuring that those illegally digging pit sand are brought to book,” he said.
“In 2014, a family lost three members in Retreat due to these ditches. Some of these pits are so deep that children decide to go and swim or fish in them and this results in their drowning.”
Cde Mashayambombe said the dangerous ditches endangered people’s lives, especially when it is raining.
He said areas such as Retreat, Southlea Park, Southgate, Stoneridge and Hoplea Farm have over the years recorded several deaths due to the pits.
Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri recently urged residents to be wary of losing lives and property this rainy season, encouraging caution at home and on the roads.
Environmental Management Agency (EMA) spokesperson Mr Steady Kangata acknowledged the damage the sand poachers are making.
He said they have caused casualties not in Harare South only, but across the country.
“We have recorded a number of deaths in Epworth, Harare South and Magwegwe in Bulawayo due to these pits that are dug by sand poachers,” Mr Kangata said.
He blamed residents who buy sand and bricks from these areas.
“We urge members of the public not to promote these illegal sand poachers through buying their sand,” said Mr Kangata. “Instead, they should work with EMA to bring such people to book.”
Mr Kangata said people who wanted to venture into selling sand should register with the agency.
“Those who wish to sell sand for construction or any other reason should come and register with EMA so that they have the requisite papers to be in that business,” he said.
“This helps in the rehabilitation of the places in which they will be operating in.”
Mr Kangata highlighted the hefty fines associated with illegal sand extraction.
“Illegal sand axtractors face a fine of up to level 14 which involves a $5 000 fine” said Mr Kangata.
There has been an outcry from residents who think that fines are not enough to keep the sand poachers at bay.
People who spoke to The Herald acknowledged the presence of EMA officials in the stricken areas, but condemned their corrupt activities.
A long-term solution is nowhere near sight as sand poachers allegedly bribe officials so that they continue with their illegal poaching.
The Harare City Council has expressed concern on the destruction of land and the potential threat to life.
The city’s acting corporate communication manager Mr Michael Chideme said they were educating communities, particularly in Harare South, on the dangers of poaching sand.
“It is also the responsibility of residents to make sure that the beauty of that area is maintained through taking ownership by reporting sand poacher activities,” said Mr Chideme.
True as it may be that EMA and the Harare City Council have the enforcing powers to ensure that the environment is protected and saving lives, the onus largely lies with communities to shun creating “death traps” through sand poaching.
Human life is worth more than the money one stands to make from poaching and selling sand through creating life-threatening pits.