Government orders urgent action over cyanide threat in Umzingwane catchment

GOVERNMENT has ordered urgent intervention measures to curb irresponsible mining activities in the Umzingwane catchment area amid fears that nearly one million people, along with livestock and wildlife, are at risk of cyanide poisoning.

The Umzingwane catchment, which supplies water to Bulawayo, Umzingwane District and Insiza District, has been heavily invaded by illegal gold panners, while some formally licensed operators are also reportedly using cyanide in their extraction processes, threatening water sources and the surrounding environment.
Addressing journalists after a closed-door stakeholders’ meeting at the Bulawayo City Council chambers on Wednesday, the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Daniel Garwe, described the situation as an environmental crisis requiring immediate Government intervention.

“The meeting we just had follows alarm raised by the city mayor, Councillor David Coltart, over widespread environmental degradation affecting rivers, wetlands and critical water sources supplying both urban and rural communities, as well as livestock in the catchment area,” said Minister Garwe.

The meeting brought together representatives from the three affected local authorities, traditional leaders, security services and various Government departments. Also in attendance was Umzingwane legislator Levy Mayihlome.
Minister Garwe warned that the scale of the threat could affect over 900 000 people.

“Bulawayo has a population of over 800 000 people and combined with the two other local authorities, Umzingwane and Insiza, we are looking at over 900 000 people, including livestock and wild animals, who are at real danger of cyanide poison because of these irresponsible miners,” he said.

Despite normal to above-normal rainfall during the current season, most supply dams in the catchment remain below 50 percent capacity, a situation authorities attribute to environmental degradation caused by mining activities.

Minister Garwe said Government will convene an inter-ministerial meeting by Monday involving the Ministries of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Environment and Climate Change, Mines and Mining Development, and Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development to map out a decisive response.

The intervention, he said, will focus on halting illegal mining operations, enforcing environmental regulations and protecting critical water sources.

Traditional leaders also raised concerns over the destruction of culturally significant sites in the area.

“The traditional leaders who also attended the meeting raised very disturbing and fundamental issues in respect to the destruction of sacred places in those areas, a threat to tradition and culture. It’s now decimating all our streams, rivers and as a result depositing cyanide in those streams and rivers which eventually find its way to the dams, and this is a serious threat to humans, livestock and wildlife,” said Minister Garwe.

He said mining activities were now threatening parts of the Great Dyke, accusing some operators of ignoring environmental regulations.

“It is now threatening the existence of the Great Dyke, as the mountain range is facing danger as a result of these small-scale miners on one hand and large-scale miners masquerading as investors without taking due regard to Environmental Impact Assessment reports coming from the Environmental Management Agency, disregarding reports coming from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority and local authorities,” said Minister Garwe.

Government now wants strict enforcement of Statutory Instrument 188 of 2024, which banned riverbed mining.

“We want to apply Statutory Instrument 188 of 2024 which banned riverbed mining. We want law enforcement agencies to take action yesterday,” he said.