ZIMBABWE has faced myriad economic challenges from the onset of the 21 st century owing to a variety of factors.
These difficulties amplified poverty and reduced employment prospects for young people in the country.
Consequently, they resorted to, among other things, gold panning or (chikorokoza) to eke out a living. Zimbabwe is a gold-rich nation, with deposits of the precious metal being found in many locations ranging from rivers, mountains and valleys across the country.
While the chikorokoza menace has affected various mountains and sizeable portions of arable land in the nation’s provinces, it is the destruction of river systems through alluvial panning that has caused more harm since rivers are also sources of water for human and animal consumption as well as for agricultural and industrial use.
Indeed, the destruction of these river systems in Zimbabwe is a potent and direct threat to human security as evidenced by the sad state of affairs of Mazowe River and its connection to water shortages in Bindura town. This is the specific objective of this write-up.
Bindura is a traditionally mining and agricultural town with three major mines located in the environs of the town itself, that is, Freda Rebecca, Trojan and Ran Mines.
Keep Reading
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Bulls to charge into Zimbabwe gold stocks
- Ndiraya concerned as goals dry up
- Letters: How solar power is transforming African farms
The town is also surrounded by a great number of farms using irrigation for wheat and other crops. The need for a constant supply for water for the mining and agricultural activities cannot be overemphasised.
The 2022 census put Bindura’s urban population at over 51 000. This means an additional demand for water.
Bindura has faced intermittent water supply challenges over the years.
Recently, the town’s taps went dry for close to two weeks as a result of several reasons.
Bindura traditionally gets its water supply from Mazowe River as well as Mwenje Dam in Chiweshe when water levels in Mazowe river have declined.
Recently, the local authority and Freda Rebecca gold mine entered into a public-private partnership to lay a pipeline from Masembura Dam, a project which is reportedly nearing completion.
Without sounding reductionist, this submission is based on the observation that if Mazowe River had not been pillaged and abused through unregulated artisanal mining activities, the water supply challenges in the town may have been averted.
Mazowe River (original name Manzou River) has over the years suffered from alluvial gold mining activities by artisanal miners ranging from those using very basic tools to those using heavy equipment to extract the precious metal.
In the process of mining, the miners (both local and Chinese) have diverted the river flow, used dangerous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide resulting in heavy water pollution.
This also means an increase in the quantity of chemicals needed to treat the water. They have also dug holes and pools in the river and on its banks, resulting in heavy siltation.
As a result of this damage, the river has responded by reducing the flow of the precious liquid, resulting in scarcity of water supply for human and industrial use in Bindura town.
Consequently, residents have had to rely on water from unsafe sources, increasing chances of contracting water-borne diseases.
It has also brought to the fore the gendered nature of labour in the home as women and children bear the greater burden of searching for the precious liquid.
Conflicts related to water access and control have also been amplified because of its scarcity.
Additionally the well-to-do have resorted to sinking boreholes, sometimes in an unregulated manner, a situation which may lead to the water table shifting deeper underground.
The pillage in Mazowe River has not only affected residents but farmers as well. In areas such as Avoca, farmers have complained of massive reduction water flowing downstream resulting in them failing to irrigate their crops.
Thus, the destruction of Mazowe River has had multi-faceted challenges on Bindura town and its environs.
The situation in Bindura reflects what happens when extraction for profit and survival is prioritised over environmental sustainability.Human security is compromised.
It should be noted that nature is composed of living entities that respond (negatively) to certain unregulated and unsustainable interferences in its natural cycles.
It is also very costly to resuscitate such an ecosystem once it has been disturbed in the manner done to Mazowe River.
To prevent the continued collapse of the Mazowe River ecosystem, there is need for a multi-stakeholder approach.
First, there is need to raise the issue of environmental security to the highest level, compared to the current approach, which relegates it to a third generation human right or a small political issue.
Some areas (including rivers) have been so destroyed that it is going to be very expensive to rehabilitate them. A more pro-active approach is needed urgently, therefore, needed to prevent further destruction of various aspects of our natural environment.
The concept of environmental stewardship also comes in handy in this regard. Environmental stewardship refers to the responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices.
It involves a multiplicity of actors including individuals, organisations and governments acting to conserve resources and minimise negative impacts on ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations.
The government through statutory instrument 188 of 2024 declared illegal the prospecting of gold in river systems as well as the actual practice of alluvial mining.
This is a step in the right direction but it has not been effective in deterring this continuing vice.
Admittedly, as a result of poverty, unemployment and corruption, the challenges maybe difficult to deal with.
However, if the police, the Environmental Management Authority and other government agencies are capacitated with resources and do their work well, something positive can be realised.
Enforcement of available laws is key. Ema and security agencies dealing with this menace have to be trained and resourced with the latest technologies including drones to monitor activities in such sensitive areas to reduce the destruction of the nation’s rivers.
Additionally, heavy and deterrent fines and penalties should be imposed on those who continue to disregard Statutory Instrument 188 of 2024.
Failing this, an operation similar to Hakudzokwe (you don’t come back) of 2008 in Chiadzwa can be adopted to protect our river systems — themselves sources of the precious liquid vital to human and animal life. Beyond this, Mazowe River, and certainly other rivers across Zimbabwe facing a similar fate need to be rehabilitated. Dredging operations can help scoop sand and mud that have clogged and choked the rivers over the years.
These are quite expensive operations but very needful if our rivers are to provide the important resources and services that humanity requires.
Dr Chipaike is a researcher at Bindura UniversThese New Perspectives articles, published in the Zimbabwe Independent, are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance & Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGIZ). — kadenge.zes@gmail.com or mobile +263 772 382 852.com