GUTU residents have petitioned their local authority over the continued destruction of wetlands following the recent construction of a service station on a vlei.
By Tatenda Chitagu
The Gutu United Residents and Ratepayers Association threatened to take council to court to stop the construction of the service station.
In a letter addressed to Gutu Rural District Council (RDC) chief executive Alexander Mutembwa, the residents claim that the destruction of the wetland will affect water levels in the town’s sole water reservoir, Mushaviri Dam.
“On behalf of the residents of Gutu, we are concerned with the rampant deterioration of wetlands and the continued allocation of wetlands for construction purposes by the RDC,” the residents said.
“A case in point is the construction of a fuel station on a wetland along the Harare Road immediately after the Gutu junction. The wetland is supposed to be preserved in its natural state.
Wetlands are water sources and the destruction of wetlands will cause the water table to drastically go down. Their preservation must be prioritised.”
The residents claim activities from the service station may pollute water in the dam.
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“The construction of a fuel station will increase the chances of polluting Mushavira Dam, the water source for Gutu residents. Waste water from the forecourt washing at the operation stage will negatively impact the water quality as it will result in contamination of surface and underground water,” the letter, which the RDC acknowledged receipt, read.
The residents, who copied the letter to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), claim that there was no environmental impact assessment (EIA) done at the site.
“Our major concern is that construction work started without an impact assessment certificate in violation of the Environmental Management Act,” the letter reads.
“As residents, we are now left with no other option except taking the legal route due to the continued disregard of our concerns.”
EMA district environmental officer Proud Mazambara confirmed that there was no EIA conducted at the site.
“We ordered them to stop construction while we move in to assess the situation after they had just rushed to construct without getting an impact assessment certificate,” Mazambara said.
Mutembwa said the EIA was now being done by EMA and they would comply with recommendations.
“It’s true that EMA had halted construction. They are now doing the environmental impact assessment as we speak. If they say construction should stop, we will comply,” he said yesterday.
