Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has intensified efforts to rein in sand poachers who are causing massive land degradation in Matabeleland South Province.
Illegal sand abstraction has been going on for years with various authorities struggling to control it.
Some poachers have developed a new way of collecting this resource through what is known as sand panning, which is similar to gold panning.
This involves the mining of sand through digging trenches to reach it.
Some, however, cause soil erosion as they extract sand from riverbanks causing siltation. The mining of sand increases land degradation.
EMA Matabeleland South provincial manager Mr Decent Ndlovu said the agency’s blitz on sand poachers is an ongoing process.
“It’s an ongoing process where these sand poachers are supposed to be licensed for the sand abstraction and the transportation. Those whom we have caught breaking the law, we’ve impounded their vehicles and also issued Level 14 tickets,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said most sand poachers are habitual offenders who don’t want to comply with laid down regulations.
“Sand poachers are causing serious degradation to the environment and this is a national problem. The problem is rampant which makes it difficult to control,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Sand poachers have caused disturbances in some residential areas.
They leave deep gullies causing people who live around abstraction areas to lose their livestock which usually fall into the pits. During the rainy season, the gullies provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes, increasing the threat of malaria.
The poachers dig tunnels without proper tools or reinforcement mechanisms, so many of the burrows can collapse any time.
Most poachers have gone unpunished over the years as some of them operate during the night using unregistered vehicles which in most cases are not roadworthy. Many of them are driven at night without headlights, contributing to road accidents. – @Yolisswa
Online Reporter