adminMasvingo City Council has vowed to flash out sand poachers who are causing environmental degradation in and around the country’s oldest city. Council says it will soon launch a blitz to flush out the sand poachers who have been on the prowl targeting open spaces, streams and rivers within the municipal and peri-urban area.
Mayor Councillor Hubert Fidze said only those with licences were allowed to extract sand for resale.
He said a recent full council meeting resolved to descend on the sand poachers who were leaving open pits after extracting sand.
“We suspect that some of the culprits behind the rampant illegal sand extraction are private land developers most of whom are making a fortune from selling sand but as council we have always made it clear that only licensed players should be involved in the sale of sand in the city,” said Clr Fidze.
The mayor urged sand extractors to apply for licences from Masvingo City Council or the rural district council for them to get sand from designated areas.
“We will no longer continue to tolerate individuals who deface the environment for a few pieces of silver yet those people can easily approach us or our counterparts at Masvingo RDC and get sand extraction licences in conformity with the by-laws,” he said.
Clr Fidze said Masvingo City was mulling a joint operation with the Environmental Management Agency to curb the problem of sand poaching in the city and surrounding areas.
He said some of the huge open pits created by sand poachers were now a health hazard in the city as they were now breeding grounds for mosquitos.
“Rain water accumulates in the open pits that are left by the illegal sand extractors.
“Mosquitoes then breed in the pits, putting the entire city at risk of the spread of the deadly malaria disease,” Clr Fidze said. — Herald Reporter.
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