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OpenHwange Residents Choke Under Cloud Of Dust, Ash And Soot Pollution
A Hwange Local Board (HLB) councillor has issued a stark warning regarding the health risks facing residents of Ingagula, a residential area situated near the coal-fired Hwange Power Station, due to excessive dust pollution from haulage trucks and coal mining activities.
Ward 3 Councillor, Bryn Chikumbo, that despite numerous petitions and engagements with authorities, including the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and Chinese companies involved in coal mining, the Ingagula community continues to be vulnerable to these health hazards. He said:
We are sitting on a health time bomb. The dust rising from the movement of haulage trucks is clouding the entire suburb, and we have been experiencing respiratory diseases associated with dust in our affected communities.
We have written petitions pertaining to the respiratory diseases associated with dust in our affected communities, but we haven’t got a positive response to that effect.
We have been in constant engagement with ZPC to try to find a permanent remedy, we have also been in contact with the Chinese, but what I think is key now for us in Ingagula is for them to acknowledge and put some corrective measures to ensure that this thing of pollution comes to an end…
We are vulnerable, we are exposed, the community is dying, our kids are at a higher risk, us the parents we are at higher risk.
We have got pneumococcal cases, we are still waiting for a comprehensive report, and we believe this is because of the dust we are exposed to.
In a post to a Hwange community WhatsApp group, a resident expressed frustration with the Chinese mining companies, accusing them of unsafe mining practices that have resulted in spontaneous fires starting in the area. Said the resident:
Underground fires are common in coal mines. When coal is exposed to air and water and allowed to oxidise, it ignites itself. It is safe mining practices and risk management measures that should be put in place.
E.g. a sufficient layer of topsoil should be used to cover coal discards, but the Chinese barely do these measures.
Hwange Central MP Daniel Molokele assured the residents that he would raise the issue in Parliament. Said Molokele:
This is a failure of political leadership, unfortunately, it is putting many lives at health risk. When Parliament resumes, I will raise it as a written question to the relevant Minister.
In their recent newsletter, Councillor Chikumbo said dust caused by the increased movement of trucks, coupled with ash from the power station and coke oven batteries, has worsened air pollution in Ingagula. He said:
It’s more like we are now swamped by dust due to the increased movement of trucks. We have been affected by ashes from the power station and coke oven batteries, but the pollution has significantly increased because of the heavy presence of trucks. You will observe that most of the vegetation around the area has changed its colour. It no longer has life due to dust.
The Hwange community is appealing for urgent action to address the pollution and ensure safe mining practices.
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