Livestock in peril amid deadly pollution
villagers.
“This poses a health risk if the vegetables are not thoroughly washed before consumption,” it added.
“The coal dust also settles on washed clothes, which makes it difficult for most women to use washing lines for drying their laundry as they risk getting dirty from the coal dust.”
The communities, with the help of CNRG, have since developed an environmental audit toolkit, which they use periodically to collect data and identify non-complying companies with the help of EMA.
South Mining spokesperson Charles Muchabaiwa said the company was not responsible for the pollution of Deka River as it recycled the water used in its mining processes.
Muchabaiwa said they would investigate claims by villagers that their operations were polluting the environment.
“For the record, water from coal processing is not discharged into Deka River, but it is recycled through a very elaborate process for reuse,” he said after inviting The Standard for a tour of the affected villagers’ fields.
“Concerning the villagers’ concerns regarding the pollution of their fields, our safety and health officer is busy looking into the issue for corrective action.
“We have in the past communicated with villagers that they are free to use some of the decommissioned boreholes that were drilled by the company in their fields if they have the necessary water pumping equipment.”
He added: “We are also in constant communication with traditional leaders such as chiefs and village heads on such related issues.”
EMA’s Matabeleland North environmental officer for education and publicity Mildred Matunga said the authority carried out regular inspections “on all prescribed projects and the associated landscape/ecosystem to ensure compliance”.
Matunga said they punished companies that were found to be polluting the environment, but could not say whether South Mining was one of those caught on the wrong side of the law.
Fidelis Chilima, coordinator of the Greater Hwange Residents Trust (CHRT), said his organisation was recently forced to petition Parliament to help fight pollution in Hwange through the strengthening of laws regulating mining companies.
“We went to Parliament three months ago to lobby against pollution by these new coal mining companies and also deal with the issue of pneumoconiosis,” Chilima said.
Pneumoconiosis is a group of lung diseases caused by inhalation of dust and one of them is coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (commonly referred to as CWP or black lung), which is caused by inhaling of coal mine dust.
Through its petition, CHRT wants parliamentarians to push for the amendment of the Pneumoconiosis Act to also protect people other than mine workers, who are exposed to pollution.
Brandina Nyoni from the Zwabo area is one of the villagers who believed that they had developed health complications due to exposure to pollution by coal mining companies.
Nyoni claims she started suffering from stomach pains, an itchy skin and developed wounds all over after drinking water from Deka River.
“I have sought treatment at the local clinic, but some of the symptoms only disappear for a few days,” she said.
“We have since stopped fetching water from the river and we now rely on boreholes.
“The river used to be our source of income from both fishing and market gardening, but we can no longer use the water due to pollution.”
Montana, the environmentalist, said pollution of water sources in Hwange such as Deka River was a major source of concern.
“What makes it more painful is that the responsible authorities are fully aware of the pollution of Deka River, which has been publicised by various media houses after fish were found dying due to poisoning,” Montana said, adding that coal miners should be forced to test water samples in areas where they operate.
“After analysis of all water samples, the affected companies must be made to sit at a roundtable to discuss their findings and where there are problems, remedies must be found,” he said.
“I can speak with authority that Chilota Mine, Hwange Colliery and South Mining have vibrant corporate social responsibility and environment management policies that are very elaborate on such issues.
“The problem is that the policing is very weak and there is a lot of political interference in Hwange and this could be a problem.”
He said some foreign companies used political cover to evade statutory obligations such as environment protection.
Montana said the coal miners did not invest in environment protection because they believed it cut into their profits and urged the government to pay attention to the mining activities in Hwange as they would have a long term impact on communities.
Two years ago, villagers from the Makwa and Mashala areas in Hwange with help from the Zimbabwe Environment Lawyers threatened legal action against mining, saying pollution of water sources had left them battling health problems such as “rotting teeth, swollen stomachs and stunted growth.”
They also complained about death of aquatic life and livestock as well as the destruction of vegetation and crops due to pollution.