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Yeukai Karengezeka and Nesia Mhaka
The disappearance of wetlands and green areas under the current leadership of the City of Harare has left many residents and ecologists worried.

Questions have been asked on whether council understands the importance of wetlands and the “green lungs” from which the city breathes and hydrates.

Take any direction from the central business district (CBD) today and you will be shocked by swathes of wetlands being fenced off for new construction and the “green lungs” also being sold out for construction.
There is no doubt that in the near future, the city will suffocate itself and dehydrate itself.

So far, the water table in Harare has gone deep under, to the point where more water wells are drying out.
Harare Metropolitan Provincial Affairs Minister Oliver Chidawu has vowed to bring sanity to the situation prevailing on wetlands by ensuring that all residential and commercial structures built on them are demolished.

This comes as most wetlands have been parcelled out by council officials despite the critical role they play. Wetlands are important in the society for the provision of ground water, flood control, climate change mitigation, food protection and bio diversity.

Minister Chidawu on Tuesday toured some of the affected areas including Malbereign, Longcheng Plaza, Sunridge and Budiriro.

“In Harare alone there are 30 wetlands under the threat of illegal settlements,” said Minister Chidawu. “As the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and devolution in Harare Metropolitan province, I will leave no stone unturned to ensure that we bring back some sanity to this province by making sure that all illegal settlements on our vital wetlands are removed.” Minister Chidawu said he was going to engage the local authorities, Environmental Management Agency and the police soon on the issue.

“It is quiet disheartening that our wetlands which are vital for human survival because of their countless benefits or ecosystem services have fallen victim to these lawless individuals who have not taken cognisance of the fact that the same wetlands are essential, he said.

“In this regard, I am going to order Environmental Management Agency, City of Harare and the law enforcement agencies to work out a programme to weed out all the identified illegal settlements on our wetlands.”

During the tour, observations were made that Harare now has numerous unplanned settlements and some of them are built on undesignated sites, which is against the law.

Some of these structures are built under electricity pylons, on top of sewer and water pipe lines and on reserved land for amenities.

In most cases, the allocations on the said sites involve politicians who work in connivance with council officials to approve the structures.

“As Harare Metropolitan province, am sure that we are all aware that urban planning is a technical and a political process concerned with development and designed of land use and the built environment including air, water and infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas such as transportation communication and distribution networks,” said Minister Chidawu.
“I am going to make sure that relevant authorities adhere to the original city plans, and if this means that we have to demolish any illegal settlements, then definitely we will not hesitate to do so.”