Illegal gold miners vandalise Umzingwane Dam infrastructure

TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO

Illegal gold miners are vandalising  Umzingwane Dam infrastructure threatening the city of Bulawayo water supplies.

The unprecedented move by the illegal miners has forced the Bulawayo City Council to  decommission Umzingwane Dam, located in Matabeleland South Province due to dwindling water levels in the reservoir.

“If we don’t do anything, our people will end up drinking water with cyanide poisoning,” the deputy mayor for the city of Bulawayo, Mlandu Ncube told a full council meeting.

He added: “I didn’t know that people could block a dam. Umzingwane Dam was blocked and they are doing their illegal mining while water is no longer reaching residents. So, we should manage this situation.”

Ward 8 councillor Shadreck Sibanda said the government should consider banning mining activities.

“Gold is important but at the same time water for our city is more important than the gold being mined in Esigodini and other areas where the water catchment for Bulawayo are located.

“My proposal is more of an appeal to the central government to totally ban all the mining activities that are currently happening in that area,” he said.

He said there was so much damage happening which will worsen the water crisis. The water crisis has been threatening operations at the Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo as they are going for several days without running water.

Mpilo is one of the city’s major public hospitals that serves the population of Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and referrals from Matabeleland North and South, Midlands and Masvingo Provinces.