Environmental and water rights campaigners have given a 48-hour ultimatum to the City of Harare (CoH), the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), and the Upper Manyame Sub-Catchment Council (UMSCC) to decontaminate Lake Chivero and stop discharging raw sewage effluent into the primary water source.
The ultimatum was issued by the Harare Wetlands Trust (HWT), represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
This follows a press statement by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, reporting the deaths of several animals due to cyanobacteria contamination in Lake Chivero.
HWT believes the pollution is caused by CoH’s continued dumping of raw sewage into the lake, leading to a loss of animal life and making the water unsafe for human consumption.
HWT argued that CoH has a constitutional obligation to protect the environment and ensure a safe and healthy environment for citizens, as outlined in sections 73 and 4(2)(g) of the Environmental Management Act.
In the event of EMA failing to meet its demands, HWT said it will proceed to institute litigation against EMA.
In its letter to UMSCC, HWT demanded that the statutory water management body should within 24 hours furnish it with details of the cause, nature and extent of the cyanobacteria contamination of Lake Chivero and share information as to whether any measures are being taken to de-contaminate Lake Chivero and specify the nature of such measures being taken.
The Trust also demanded that UMSCC should advise it if it has issued any measures and or recommendations to prevent the recurrence of the contamination of water in Lake Chivero and specify such measures and recommendations.
Failure to do so, HWT said, would leave it with no option but to take legal action against UMSCC to compel it to furnish the environmental and water rights campaigners with the requested information.
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