THE current heavy rains that have fallen around the country, have left a lot of families grappling with water that has surrounded their properties.
ROPAFADZO MAPIMHIDZE
The worst affected are those who built their homes on wetlands which get flooded during the rains.
Ward 41 councillor in Harare Charity Bango insists that wetlands are not meant for residential development.
The wetland is home to various plants, birds and small animals like squirrels, rabbits and even snakes that thrive in that ecosystem. Wetlands also store water and slow the rising waters of a flood. However, construction projects taking place on wetlands in and around Harare continue unabated with conservationists saying water woes will in future bedevil Harare as a result of destruction of these natural reservoirs.
Major threats to wetlands include agricultural activities and infrastructural development especially in urban areas.
“We have a serious problem on these wetlands where houses are sprouting. “The question, however, is just who allocates this land for residential purposes?” Bango asked as she scanned through an environmental map of Harare.
The problem of people building on wetlands is widespread with some houses in Chitungwiza being targeted for demolition.
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“We have serious problems with the town planners at Town House in Harare. For example, government flats next to Sanganayi Inn near Westgate were built on a swampy area not suitable for residential purposes. When it rains, occupants of these flats find it difficult to find their way into their individual units because the area would be flooded.
Other wetlands that have been allocated for developmental purposes around Harare include one behind Dandaro Village in Borrowdale that has created a lot of debate where a massive retail shopping complex is set for construction.
The wetland at Warren Hills golf course, which stands on 21 hectares at the corner of Princess Road and Sherwood Drive in Meyrick Park, is earmarked for construction of a five-star hotel.
Next to the National Sports Stadium, lies a massive Chinese hotel and shopping complex, a development that has been met with criticism from various conservationist groupings.
A beautiful international forest comprising various indigenous trees that had been planted in the mid-80s on this wetland, by diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe, was destroyed to pave way for the hotel and shopping complex.
Bango says Harare City Council has solid regulations governing the construction of commercial buildings and houses, some dating back to the colonial era.
Although these regulations have been criticised as working against poor people, they have ensured that Harare, unlike other disorderly African cities, boasts well-planned structures that can withstand severe weather patterns and stand the test of time.
Bango said council had to go back to the drawing board and find ways of solving these issues before Harare, and other local authorities, turn into squatter or shanty compounds.
She noted that there could be higher authorities that override council decisions and hence the problems bedeviling the city inasfar as wetlands are concerned.
Environmental Management Authorty (EMA) spokesperson Steady Kangata said the issue is a contentious one especially in the urban areas. “There has been a rush by urban infrastructural developers who have taken advantage of these open spaces which are wetlands, an issue we are not happy with as environmentalists.
These areas are ecologically sensitive because they help us by giving us ecological goods and services. One of the benefits that speak to us critically this time of the year is that of flood control by these wetlands.”
Added Kangata: “Wetlands have the capacity to absorb excess rain water and feed our main rivers. But we are disturbing these wetlands by creating concrete jungles resulting in water that runs off giving people who have built on these spongy areas a nightmare. Anyone who wants to utilise a wetland has to get a nod from EMA so that we tell them about the dos and don’ts on those areas. But people have turned a deaf ear but these are no doubt poor investments in the long-term.”
