The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has reportedly netted 320 environmental offenders this month in a blitz aimed at reducing emission of toxic fumes into the atmosphere.
The environmental watchdog said the blitz, launched early this month, targeted mines, both liquid and solid waste disposals, hazardous waste and excessive emissions of smoke from industries and vehicles.
About 15 mines operating without approved environmental impact assessment certificates have so far been fined in the blitz. Manicaland EMA manager Kingston Chitotombe said the certificate works as measures to guide in preventing all forms of degradation.
“Many gold mines in Manicaland are operating without approved environmental impact assessment certificates where an individual mine tries to predict the negative and positive impact of the mines and come up with mitigation measures for the negative impact,” said Chitotombe.
He said 41 tickets were for poor storage of hazardous substances, 32 were for discharging effluents, 56 for using banned plastic bags while 23 tickets were issued to public transporters travelling without litter bins.
“We are clamping hard on public transporters operating without litter receptacles. Gone are the days when people were urged to throw litter through windows. There should be proper bins so that litter is properly disposed,” he added.
He also warned those who were caught in the blitz to pay their fines or risk a jail term.
