Online Reporter
Diana Nherera
Suburban Reporter
The City of Harare and the Combined Harare Residents Association held an environment and climate policy workshop yesterday to address issues to do with water conservation, wetlands management, road infrastructure management and flash flooding.
The local authority’s head of the environmental management unit, Mr Lisben Chipfunde said the city does not have an environment and climate policy.
“There are so many problems that are environment and climate change-related but we didn’t have a policy to guide us on how to manage them,” he said.
“From 2019, the city set up an environment management unit responsible for ensuring proper coordination and management of climate and environmental management.
“So when they put this unit, they then realised there was no policy direction. Using the bottom-up approach, we have consulted residents to find out what they would want in the policy to address the challenges they are facing.”
He said the feedback they got was put into various thematic areas.
“We are also in consultation with the Government, residents’ associations, other local authorities, industry and institutions of higher learning,” he said.
“We want to hear what they want the policy to address,” said Mr Chipfunde.
Acting Harare Mayor, Councillor Womberaiishe Nhende said the environment and climate policy will take Harare’s growth dynamics into account.
Speaking at the workshop, Councillor Nhende said, “If you look at Harare today, you will see that there is rapid growth of the city and the population. Our environment policy must speak to these dynamics,” he said.
He appealed for technical and financial resources in drafting the policy.
“The onus lies on everyone in here, it must then cascade to all the other provinces for the betterment of the nation.”
