adminPamela Shumba Senior Reporter
FARMERS operating along Umguza River are still irrigating their crops using water from the heavily polluted river.
This is despite the fact that the Environmental Management Agency (Ema) recently condemned the river water as unsuitable for drinking, irrigation and agricultural purposes.Last month farmers were ordered to stop using Umguza water to irrigate vegetables while villagers’ boreholes next to the river were sealed off following revelations that the water contains high levels of metals and other pollutants that can cause chronic illnesses in people who consume crops grown using the water.
However, Dumisani Nyoni, the Matabeleland North provincial Agritex officer told Chronicle last week that farmers were not ordered to stop their farming activities near the river.
“No farmer was stopped from doing their irrigation activities near the Umguza River. There was no such instruction from the government. We took soil, crop and water samples from the area to analyse whether there are any contaminants being taken up by the crops,” said Nyoni.
“After that has been done, we will be having conclusive scientific evidence to determine whether there are any accumulative pollutants in the soil and whether farmers should continue with their farming activities or not.”
Nyoni said the tests were being done by the Department of Research and Specialist Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, adding that results were expected soon.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union (ZCFU) Matabeleland North provincial chairman Winstone Babbage said they are continuing with their farming activities as they had not received any formal communication from the government.
“We were only informed that government had taken soil, water and crop samples for testing and we would be advised accordingly after the tests have been done,” said Babbage, one of the farmers who operate in Umguza.
“We are therefore doing our business as usual, while we wait for official correspondence from the government.”
Most of the farmers in the area produce maize, cabbages, lettuce, onions, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes that are sold in Bulawayo and surrounding areas.
The Bulawayo City Council and a number of companies in the city have been blamed for environmental crimes that result in the pollution of Umguza River. Some are reportedly releasing untreated toxic chemicals directly into the environment.
The toxins reportedly end up in Umguza River, via the city’s storm drains, where they can cause cancer, skin disorders and a number of water-borne diseases to villagers in Umguza district.
They also kill fish and other aquatic life.
Environment, Water and Climate Minister Saviour Kasukuwere is on record saying Bulawayo companies discharging raw effluent into the Umguza River and its tributaries must pay.
Last month he threatened to initiate measures to shut down companies polluting the river, saying the people in the area have a right to a clean and safe environment.
Speaking early last month when the ban was announced, EMA’s Matabeleland North provincial manager Chipo Zuze-Mpofu said the pollution of the river, had led to health hazards which were confirmed by recent laboratory tests.
“Pollution of the river has been going on for years since pre-independence but now the situation is out of hand and we fear for the residents of the area especially for those that are close to the river as we don’t know yet what other chemicals are in the water,” she said.
Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) Gwayi Catchment manager Fortune Musoni said the water from the river as well as boreholes close to the river were contaminated.
He said farmers close to the river who used the water for irrigation purposes were facing the most danger.
“They should find alternative means as the content of chromium-6 in the water is too high as the stipulated milligram per litre is 0,05,” he said.
He said it would take between 90 and 100 years for the water to become clean naturally as there were no chemicals that could clean up metallic chemicals in the water.
He said the water had high levels of faecal coliform which is from raw sewage waste; phosphorus, zinc, lead and chromium-6 which is the most dangerous if the levels are too high.
“The river is highly polluted, all water comes from streams in Bulawayo where funeral parlour water and sewage water is discharged into Khami River. This is affecting Wards 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 18 in Umguza. Some villagers do not have boreholes and the water is not clean.
Online Reporter