adminBlessings Chidakwa and Colombus Mabika
The previous Harare City Council regularised more than 1 400 illegally-created residential stands on a wetland in Mabvuku without ensuring that basic services including water, sewers, roads and refuse collection were in place.
The area, Kugarika Kushinga, was invaded by illegal settlers between 2000 and 2013 before the local authority decided to regularise the “mess”.
Despite the very high density, there are no sewers; there is no piped water; and without roads, garbage trucks cannot operate in the area.
Waste water from the nearby Lafarge cement works ensures the wetland is kept swampy, which makes alternatives to sewers impossible as septic-tanks or latrines flood, so raw sewage flows on the surface.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has since raised a red flag over the regularisation by Harare City Council, saying council did this without an environmental impact assessment, needed for converting a wetland to housing.
Speaking during a media tour organised by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) last Friday, local Ward 46 councillor Stewart Hutawunashe confirmed that council endorsed the project despite the area having no essential services.
“Council regularised the development so that people can stay. It was done by the previous council, but as the local councillor l know this was a swampy area. In fact was where waste water from Larfage was flowing.”
Clr Hutawunashe said the stands range from 190 square metres to 225 square metres and council needs millions of dollars to provide the minimum basic services.
EMA Harare East district officer Mr Armstrong Moyo said Harare jumped the gun by regularising the project.
“According to us, this development is not regularised because it does not have an environmental impact assessment,” he said.
Before the EMA can proceed, there is need for an ecological assessment so that the EMA measures the ecological sensitivity of the area and then there is need to separate the wetland area from the non-wetland, and then approve development away from the swamp.
Online Reporter