Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
Senior Reporter
THE Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has called on the Government to declare the pollution of the Deka River and its environs in Hwange a national disaster, warning that uncontrolled underground fires from coal mining activities pose an even greater threat in the near future.
EMA director general, Mr Aaron Chigona, said this while giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Wildlife at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden Tuesday last week.
The submission follows a petition by Hwange residents over pollution issues relating to the river.
“We request that the capitalisation of the environment fund never be delayed,” Mr Chigona told the committee. “Why? Because the carbon tax which is being collected in terms of the Environmental Management Act Chapter 20:27, channelled towards the consolidated revenue fund of Government, should be limited to the Agency as in terms of the EMA Act.”
He also urged Parliament to urgently deal with the Environmental Management Amendment Bill 2026, saying the proposed legislation contained provisions that could finally free Deka communities from the daily pollution they endure.
Giving oral evidence before the same committee, Environmental Protection Director, Mr Christopher Musvava, said the penalties currently imposed on mining companies for polluting the environment are not deterrent enough under the existing legal framework.
“We have fines and penalties that are obtained in terms of the current law, but obviously we have noted that they are not a deterrent, to be honest, in terms of companies that are polluting,” Mr Musvava said. “They are also in business. I am sure a penalty should make a difference to their bottom line in terms of business so that they are also serious about controlling pollution resources.”
Mr Musvava disclosed that EMA had fined several companies over pollution of the Deka River, including Hwange Colliery, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and Hwange Power Station.
He said the Agency had issued environmental protection orders and penalty tickets, but enforcement efforts had yielded limited results. According to EMA data, 75.6 percent of all enforcement resources are directed at water pollution cases, confirming that water contamination is the country’s most pressing environmental challenge.
Mr Musvava expressed hope that the Environmental Management Amendment Bill of 2026, once tabled in Parliament, would strengthen the regulatory framework and address the shortcomings.
He also revealed that EMA had been conducting routine ambient monitoring since 2021 to track violations by mining companies. The Agency carries out monthly sampling at defined points along the Deka catchment, building a five-year chemical profile of the river system.
“We have what we call a routine ambient monitoring which started in around 2021 to 2025,” Mr Musvava said.
“So, we have five years of monthly sampling at defined points, allowing the catchment to establish the long-term chemical pattern. We can share with the committee the results that we have been finding for the past five years and we are also able to go on the ground and indicate to the committee areas where we are sampling and why we are sampling on those particular areas.”
Residents of Hwange have previously petitioned Parliament to investigate pollution issues affecting the Deka River, complaining that mining operations had contaminated the water source on which their livelihoods depend.
The committee has not yet indicated when it will present its findings or recommendations to Parliament.
