Lake Chivero: When water is no longer life but death

MOSES MATENGA/KUDAKWASHE CHIBVURI

Dozens of people throng Lake Chivero mostly on weekends to interact with nature that includes water.

After all, they say water is life but the deaths of rhinos and fish in the last few days has seen many worrying and in fear that after wild animals, death will soon catch up with human beings.

The Lake Chivero deaths has jolted authorities into action with ZimParks immediately evacuating the rhinos and stopping fishing from the lake.

There has been accusations and counter-accusations on who is to blame for the crisis with environmentalist and owner of bird Sanctuary, Kuimba Shiri, Gary Stafford blaming illegal settlements and destruction of wetlands to the crisis.

“This problem has been foretold a very long time ago. We told the people of Harare that if you continue to build on wetland and destroy the wetlands, you are going to destroy this lake,” Stafford, whose facility attracts local and foreign tourists said.

“This wetland is holding water over a long period and it releases the water slowly over a long period resuscitating this lake. What has happened is that our previous administrations have gone and build on wetlands and destroyed them and what we have witnessed in the last 10 years mainly is what we call flash flooding.”

“It’s the wetlands that needs to be protected in Harare. You see people are building on wetlands and this is causing all these issues. We are losing the water to the Zambezi,” he said.

Reuben Akili, Director of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), raised concern about the ongoing issue of raw sewage being dumped into Lake Chivero, a vital water source for the region.

“To purport that these institutions exist, while they are mandated, they neglect their mandate which has dire effects not only on the environment and aquatic life, but even on human life,” he said.

Akili criticized council officials for holding ineffective “boardroom meetings” that produce no tangible results.

In the wake of the crisis and the outrage from residents and other stakeholders, Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume the city is working on upgrading its sewer reticulation system. He noted that the current infrastructure is outdated and called upon the government for additional resources.

Mafume explained that informal settlements have worsened the sewage crisis.

“The issue of informal settlements has increased our challenges. We have over 150,000 informal settlement areas that are not regularized and these do not have sewer reticulation systems. Therefore, their discharge goes straight into our water bodies,” Mafume said.

“Around the shores of Lake Chivero, there is a growing number of informal settlements. These increase poaching activities and also pollute the lake. This situation needs to be regulated, and we must put a stop to irregular settlements.” Mafume added.

Zinara vimbai@magnacarta.co.zw