MPs decry Save River siltation

Source: MPs decry Save River siltation | The Herald July 13, 2017

Elita Chikwati in MASVINGO—
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Water, Tourism and Hospitality has called on Government to come up with stiffer penalties for people engaging in bad practices causing siltation of water bodies, as this is threatening major investments being undertaken by the State. The committee raised the red flag on Tuesday after touring Middle Sabi Water Station, Zimbabwe National Water Authority’s Checheche Water Supply, Nyajena Station in Masvingo South and Tokwe Mukosi Lake in Chivi.

The committee raised concerns that if people continued with careless farming practices all the investments could go to waste.

Committee chairperson Cde Wonder Mashange said Government was investing a lot of money in infrastructure, but it was also important for people to be responsible and practise good farming methods.

“Government should come up with stiffer penalties for people causing land degradation,” he said. “From the visits, we have observed and discovered that siltation is the major threat to our water bodies.

“We have witnessed the investments made in dam construction even in agricultural activities. Government should take a radical position in trying to discourage and come up with effective policies to avoid streambank cul- tivation.

“Government should not trivialise environmental issues because we end up losing all the investments to siltation and also the same Government will spend a lot of money in trying to engage in desiltation programmes.”

Briefing the committee on the operations at Middle Sabi Water Station, Zinwa catchment manager for Save Engineer Tendai Muyambo said siltation was one of the major challenges affecting the authority.

“We are using our equipment to desilt at Middle Sabi station,” he said. “For us to contain siltation along the Save River, we have to improve on how people upstream are using the land.

“A lot of sand is washed due to various activities such as streambank cultivation. People are cultivating along the streams. All the way up from Odzi and tributaries of Save, we get all the soils that have been washed away eventually deposited along Save River and we now have massive challenges of the siltation.”

Eng Muyambo said Zinwa was desilting the sump area at Middle Sabi Water Station.

“We are using around $500 000 per year to control the silt at Middle Sabi only,” he said. “Along Save we have not done any desiltation because we do not have the necessary equip- ment.

“On Middle Sabi alone, we require two drag lines which cost $272 000 each. For the Save Catchment as a whole it will be fair to get a drag line for desilting and about three bulldozers to support the drag lines. Each bulldozer costs around $300 000.”

The committee is touring Zinwa water works and irrigation projects supplied with water by the authority to understand the parastatal’s operations, successes and challenges .