adminSunday Mail 2 February 1997
A TENDER will soon be floated by the Ministry of Defence for companies to clear the country of 800km of landmines that were planted during the liberation struggle.
This was announced by the general manager of Zimbabwe Defence Industries, Colonel Tshinga Dube, at a one-day Ecumenical Documentation and Information Centre for Eastern and Southern Africa seminar in Harare last week.
Col Dube, a member of the United Nations Advisory Board to the Secretary-General on Disarmament, said the landmines, estimated to be about 1,5 million, would have to be cleared soon at a cost of about $17 billion. This amount could not be raised from the annual budget.
He, however, said efforts were being made to solve the problem and other means of raising funds would be sought.
The European Community recently donated about $120 million for the clearance of part of the landmines in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe inherited more than 1,5 million landmines planted mainly along the eastern border with Mozambique and the northern border with Zambia. The mined areas cover almost 800km.
In 1980, half a million hectares of land was unusable due to landmines, few of which have been removed since then.
On accusations that Zimbabwe continued to manufacture landmines, Col Dube said this was not true. He said a landmine production project had been stopped in 1991.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Land mines are a clear testimony of the after-effects of war.
Studies have shown that it is cheaper to plant land mines, but much more expensive to remove them.
A conventional mine-clearance approach uses machines and deminers with metal detectors.
The clearing of landmines is a huge and expensive task; which most African countries have to face after liberation struggles and other armed conflicts.
In most cases, children fall victim to mines because they are curious and too careless with the left overs of armed conflicts.
Informed education about dangerous areas, warning signs and acting cautiously can save lives.
To date, there are still large tracts of land which are unusable until they are completely demined.
Online Reporter