Gweru, Kwekwe councils fined

Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
THE Gweru City Council (GCC) has been fined $25,000 by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) for failing to protect the environment by discharging raw sewage into water bodies. Kwekwe City Council (KCC) has also been fined $2,000 for the same crime.

Timothy Nyoka, EMA’s Midlands provincial environment officer, said the two local authorities have been polluting water bodies in their surroundings, a situation he said posed a health hazard to communities living downstream.

He said they issued orders for the two municipalities to protect the environment in terms of the Environment Act, but they had since opened a criminal case against Gweru City Council for defying the order.“We’ve issued tickets worth $25,000 to GCC for discharging raw sewage into the environment for example Gweru and Runde rivers and in Woodlands high density suburb.

“However, GCC have failed to comply and we’ve proceeded to open a docket with the police to bring the local authority to book,” said Nyoka. He said in Kwekwe, the local authority was discharging raw sewage into Sebakwe River.“The $2,000 ticket is aimed at making Kwekwe stop discharging raw sewage,” he said. Nyoka said Gokwe Town Council had submitted its environmental management plan, which has since been approved, an indication that he said showed that they were ready to properly manage their sewerage system.

“Gokwe has also gone a step further by training 50 litter monitors to monitor littering issues in the town,” said Nyoka. He advised all local authorities to clean storm water drains ahead of the rainy season to avoid artificial flooding.

Meanwhile, addressing a Zanu PF development meeting at the party’s Convention Centre recently, Gweru council commissioner Tsungai Mhangami said the city was in the process of rehabilitating its sewage treatment plant. “We’ve been fined $25,000 by EMA for failing to manage our refuse as well as discharging raw sewage into Gweru River. We’re in the process of rehabilitating our sewage treatment plant,” he said.