There is no-doubt that if land-barons surrounding lake Chivero take the smile home and get the last laugh if given an order to develop stands near Lake Chivero, that developmental High Court prerogative may have muzzled the right to safe water and a clean environment.
A list of developers have that alacrity to develop near the lake. These stretch from around Norton and Darwendale along the Hunyani River.
Right in the middle facing the east, a prospective housing development awaits high court order.
To the east close down south of Rydale Ridge there is/ are land developers encroaching the lake.
There are several avaricious land-barons who have eyed developments to stretch down to slopping areas which slants down to the water source of Harare.
Our natural water reservoir, Lake Chivero is now highly congested with environmental toxic substances which flow into it through Mukuvisi River, Hunyani and tributaries connected to the main rivers which down-load water into Lake Chivero.
The natural water source has become surrounded by several housing and sundry infrastructural developments.
Several stands on the outskirts of Harare on derelict farms were surveyed and demarcated on cliffs which slopes down into the lake .
The definition of a cliff is that it is a highland area projecting out into the sea. In this regard, Lake Chivero is the afore-said water body that is already a near-miss likely to get to extinction in the future if tight environmental measures are not taken.
It is pathetic, heart-rending to note that those who eye housing developments which are demarcated to the lake have no heart and soul to save millions of Harare residents, who need clean, safe, healthy water.
The topography of the whole area is on stream gradient and environmental gradient. The gradient of an area looks much on sloppiness, low lying area of which bigger population can be a menace to water sources.
Allocation of residential stands demands proper sewage management, water piping and waste disposal of high quality management.
It is an environmental danger, hazardous and un-proper leadership to allocate the kind of residential suburbs which needs all the above tracking systems.
Warwick farm which has almost 800 hectares of land, if developed houses, schools, clinics and urban infrastructure blatantly this rowdy decision will cause hazardous situations, bad environmental mess-ups and pollution which results in heavy denudations, erosion and mass wasting especially during rain seasons.
Such is the building up situation rotting incipiently in the eyes of those who are supposed to control the situation at initial stages.
It is an obvious case that Environmental Management Agency [EMA] was consulted according to laws to spare a decision and conclude on such developments.
However, if environmental impacts assessments were wisely carried out , how then was it reached to conclusion that developments were suitable at such an area. This was actually done on lines of grant corruption of which EMA officials must be investigated by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The anti-corruption body must stand in perfect transparency as a vital stake-holder to make EMA accountable before it goes bad.
Who then ever was responsible in issuing such a license to developers must be grilled in a fair legal confrontation.
Besides EMA, Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has a case to answer regarding this. Infect, there are a number of stakeholders including the ruling party itself to answer on such in-transparency and in-credibility.
To move on chewing the cud regarding this Zinwa has to answer as well including the city of Harare. There are ministries which are still quite at the moment yet they cry fall at last if hazardous conditions persist. The two ministries of Health and Environment. On top of that there are civil society organisations like Harare Residents association, Community Water Trust, UN agencies like the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, community and NGO based organisations.
Most of these only shake their bodies when environmental chaos rises. A good typical example arose last Year when a number of aquatic animals like fish were decimated.
There are a number of animals that died. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority was not much heard yet it was supposed to take action.
When such situations occur in developed countries, besides organisations, the government and its ministries and nation at large make an up-roar, gets to the drawing lines board, take syllogistic symposium decisions to take parliament to task.
If this is kept quiet, only to yell when disasters come, it means then there is no democracy.
It is then applicable to talk of environmental democracy. Zimbabwe must now be moving towards insinuating and remonstrating on environmental and health democracy so as to up-hold accountable those who trample environmental and health policies and laws.
Besides, there must be an open agenda to speak loudly, be heard and push for new city by-laws, strengthen this and make bold efforts to design new environmental and health laws.
These must help deter actions of those who romp down victory of democratic voices of the people.
Citizens have to right to stand up and voice on issues that bring solutions to crisis they have seen.
Zimbabwe has had sundry crisis ranging from spread of communicable diseases like cholera.
This communicable water-borne disease is caused by vibrio cholera. It is fecal since the waste human decomposed matter from the body is toxic. .
Suppose the idea of developing stands in the area has been taken up. What next may happen?
Currently, communities, high density suburbs are totally messed up with disposed pampers.
A synoptic survey reveals that the whole of Harare, environmental hazards have ascended to accumulative levels along the streets, at business centers and on close bushes.
Such horrendous environmental situations leads to types of pollution There are mainly three [3] types, Land, water and air pollution.
The land is congested with unattended waste matter. These conditions are likely to choke Lake Chivero in the next ten [10] if this is left without attention. Besides, rainfall drains all the dirty to the shores of the lake.
Dioxins, the waste water drawn out of land masses of heaped dirty move as darkened water to cause hazards which lead to hard water in reserved water sources. Garbage, waste dirty from heaped waste moves towards gradients of slopping cliffs to end up in Lake Chivero.
There is no doubt that water from the lake in the next 10 to 20 years will be ravaged by these dioxins.
When this happens, there are phytoplankton which grow vastly because of high levels of nutrients in water.
These phytoplankton are water plants fed by zooplanktons, water aquatic animals, creatures and fish.
At the end of good times, these water living animals go out of space slowly causing what is animal extinction.
Secondly, plants grow up in water thereby making the lake become hard at times to manage. Already Lake Chivero is heavily congested by water plants, weeds and grass.
Lake Chivero needs an authority body to match the way m perennial rivers are managed like the Zambezi River, which has the Zambezi River Authority.
It may be imperative to institute legal frameworks to protect the water body.
Responsible ministries and their bodies must be guided by legal measures censorious on the side of good water resources management to support and do adequate conservation of this water source.
The hard work of the day for all is to rise and shine for the lake and other water sources conservation , preservation of the culture of sustainable water resources management and wake up to environmental calls to lead with water best practices management.
This is for future generations and the sustainability of nature in the saying, ‘’let’s leave nature the way we found it like on earth.’’
*Nevson Mpofu is a multi-awarded Journalist, writer. Writes on his own capacity.+263-771604577 , +263—719470420, nmnevsonmpofu755@gmail.com
- These weekly articles ar coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultant (Private) Limited, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance & Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe . Email- kadenge.zes@gmail.com or Mobile No. 263 772 382 852