Mutare — The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has made a passionate plea to surrounding Chiadzwa diamonds and other stakeholders to join in the fight against massive pollution in that area.
BY OBEY MANAYITI
EMA’s Manicaland provincial manager Kingston Chitotombe told delegates at an alternative mining indaba organised by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) and other partners in Mutare that pollution in the area could only be tackled through collective action.
Villagers from Marange, Chipinge and Chimanimani have been complaining that pollution of Save River had left hundreds of livestock dead, while people reportedly struggled with different ailments caused by contamination of the water.
Diamond miners were accused of emitting effluent into Save River and its tributaries, a development that has also affected Chipinge villagers.
“EMA doesn’t work in isolation, but we work with the community, the miners themselves and the local authority to find a solution to this challenge,” Chitotombe said amid complaints by other stakeholders over EMA’s capacity to deal with the pollution.
“We should all come together and find a lasting solution. The responsibility to keep the environment clean does not lie on us alone. We cannot stop this problem alone. Therefore, we need everyone’s input, especially the communities.”
Chitotombe said villagers had the right to enforce citizen’s arrest on environmental offenders.
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He said villagers also had a role in the enactment of by-laws aimed at stopping environmental damage.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission also urged the villagers to alert the watchdog on any violations that needed investigations.
However, the commission was challenged to be more visible and take Chiadzwa rights violations seriously as people continued to suffer at the hands of diamond mining firms’ unfulfilled promises.
Mutoko, Chipinge and Chimanimani local authorities raised concern over the manner minerals were being exploited without any investment in the communities.
Some blamed different pieces of legislations that seem to be in conflict among themselves in terms of control.
Mutoko Rural District Council chief executive officer Peter Sigauke weighed in saying black granite mining in Mutoko had failed to transform the area, accusing the miners of undermining the local authority.
“We are being ignored. The miners ignore us, but an ideal working condition is that the right hand should be knowing what the left is doing which is not happening in this case,” Sigauke said.
“The other problem is that our Acts must be harmonised because they are not talking to each other. We don’t know who is really in control now basing on the Traditional Leaders Act, Mines and Minerals Act and the Local Authorities Act. The miners are taking advantage of that to avoid investing.”
Others said plans to turn the diamond area of Hotsprings into a flourishing town had been scuttled because there was no proper communication between the Ministry of Mines, the local authority and the miners.
The local authorities demanded to be involved at all the levels of decision-making so as to put community needs first.
