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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Reporter
Zimbabwe has today joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Wetlands Day during a sad time when land barons mostly in Harare and Chitungwiza have been illegally parceling out stands on wetlands.

This year’s theme is “Wetlands and Water are Inseparable.”

Last week some residents in Budiriro and Chitungwiza that were allocated residential stands on wetlands by land barons lost their properties worth bundreds of thousands of dollars when their houses were flooded following heavy rains.

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo and his counterpart National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Mr Daniel Garwe have since toured the affected areas assuring residents of a clean up of the mess in urban areas caused by greedy land barons backed by corrupt council officials.

A wetlands advocacy group, Blue Agenda Trust, working in Kambuzuma, Harare said the theme highlights that if wetland developments are not curbed, then water shortages will only get worse.

“Communities are the first line of defence against wetland destruction as residents are the eyes and ears on the ground,” said the chairperson Ms Mirriam Chidhonza.

Ms Chidhonza said they support the sentiments by the Minister of Environment Dr Mangaliso Ndlovu that building on wetlands has also contributed to the perennial water crisis being faced in most urban areas.

The organisation has since developed a wetland management plan for Kambuzuma.

“The specific objectives of the plan are to conserve the Kambuzuma wetland ecosystem, an area of natural beauty in an urban setting, for present and future generations to secure water provisioning.

“The local community has to be involved in the conservation and management of Kambuzuma wetland,” she said.

Ms Chidhonza said the other plan was to raise awareness of the need to conserve wetland biodiversity and to facilitate enactment of effective and efficient management and restoration systems for the Kambuzuma Wetland and other wetlands.

She said the wetland management plan has been submitted to the City of Harare and is awaiting approval and adoption by council so that it can be implemented.

Ms Chidhonza called upon Kambuzuma residents to be part of the implementation of the Kambuzuma Wetland Management Plan.