Residents pressure council over wetlands

Residents are exhorting the Harare City Council to protect wetlands from property developers and land barons so as to stop the continued contamination of groundwater.

Wetlands are an integral part of the ecosystem, acting as sponges that filter and purify groundwater.

But growing demand for urban residential properties has seen land barons and property developers pouncing on these, with pliant and/or complicit municipal authorities carving wetlands for settlement.

Harare Residents’ Trust director Mr Precious Shumba told The Sunday Mail last week that, “Harare City should end all forms of land corruption, where councilors have parceled out wetlands and other open spaces left for the free circulation of air within residential areas.

“The overcrowding witnessed in high-density suburbs is a direct result of abandonment of urban planning regulations and rules, where school and recreational grounds have been changed from their originally designated purposes to residential stands.

“And these stands are being processed through partisan and manifestly corrupt systems which have served the corrupt councilors well.

“Examples include Tynwald South, Glen Norah B, Kuwadzana and the farm paddocks bordering Budiriro, Mufakose and Crowborough, where councillors and council management, land barons and corrupt political leaders have taken turns and collaborated to use State and council land for political use,” he said.

Contamination of water has been cited as one of the possible causes of the current cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 27 lives, and HRT has partnered the city’s health department to educate residents about the disease.

“Council and Government should provide water bowsers in all strategic places where people require more water,” said Mr Shumba.

Environmental Management Agency spokesperson Mr Steady Kangata said the contamination of groundwater, which is compounded by the invasion of wetlands, came at a steep price for ratepayers.

“Countrywide, we have at least 1,2 million hectares of wetlands and in Harare, we have 29 wetlands covering a total area of 23 000 hectares. Of these 23 000 hectares, there is a lot of interference in terms of invasions,” said Mr Kangata.

“Wetlands act as natural purifiers in as far as clean water is concerned. Wetland invasions have seen direct flows of contaminated water into water bodies such as Lake Chivero, which, in turn, burdens local authorities to use a lot of chemicals in purifying water. We urge local authorities to protect wetlands from further invasions,” he said.