Municipality fined US$25 000

failing to address environmental ills.
It was also fined for deliberately ignoring orders to pay their outstanding fines.
Last Wednesday the municipality appeared before the Environmental Management Agency charged with disposal of raw sewage into the environment, disposal of solid waste at a dumpsite, and extraction of sand and clay deposits for commercial brick moulding without a licence.
The council has, however, been given six months to pay and urged to come up with a payment plan by Thursday.
The local authority was also ordered to apply for licences for both solid waste disposal and effluent discharge within seven days and to repair and ensure zero discharge of raw sewage into the environment at Fenlea, Chaedza and Mutapa by May 31 this year.
The council was ordered to pay the outstanding tickets within seven days, submit plans for construction of a proper landfill and to map and register all clay and sand abstraction sites and submit to the Agency by April 31.
As part of the sentence, it was ordered to rehabilitate all pits created by illegal sand and clay digging.
According to the order, the council should develop environmental management plans for all the registered sites and submit these to the Agency by April 30.
In passing sentence EMA’s board vice chairperson Ms Jennifer Tanyanyiwa acknowledged the fact that the council did not waste the court’s time by admitting culpability.
She, however, lambasted the council for not being sensitive towards the public’s health.
“As city fathers, we expect you to be at the fore front of protecting the public’s health, especially now that the country has just recovered from the huge battle against the cholera pandemic.
“It is also disheartening to realise that you of all people are not taking any measures to secure your people from such imminent health hazards,” she said.
In addition to that, board chairperson, Professor Sheunesu Mupepereki stressed the need for council to address the ecological disasters caused down stream in the Manyame River.
He said: “Should raw sewage run in that river, then you will realise that we have no room for any compromise with you.”
Chinhoyi Town Clerk Mr Ezekiel Muringani had in mitigation told the court that in March 2009 when the government ordered ZINWA to hand over all operations to the councils, most of the sewer equipment and the infrastructure had been run down.
“We are also not happy about the situation but we are trying to rectify it, with the little finance we have.
“We have appealed for financial assistance from several organisations including the government and the Chinese protocol, but the process is slow,” he said.
Muringani also told the court that residents have been chipping in by providing manpower and tractors to help clear the refuse but have failed to meet the standards. Muringani also blamed the police for failing to enforce the law on those doing illegal brick moulding.
Meanwhile, Chegutu Municipality pleaded guilty to discharging sewage effluent into the environment without a licence and the disposal of solid waste at a dumpsite without a licence.
The EMA court duly fined them a total of US$17 505, 47. This also includes payment for outstanding tickets and invoices.
Chegutu municipality, however, offered to pay US$2 000 monthly to which the court acceded.
The board also ordered that council to apply for solid waste disposal and effluent discharge licences within seven days, to repair and ensure zero discharge of raw sewage into the environment and to submit plans for the construction of a proper landfill by 31 March.
They were also ordered to put adequate fire suppression measures at their dumpsite by May 15, to stop burning waste in their area and to erect a security fence around the dumpsite to restrict unauthorised entry and to collect all illegal dumps within their area by 31 May.