The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has issued an ultimatum to the Harare City Council, threatening legal action if the council fails to address the severe Lake Chivero sewer crisis within two days.
This stern warning follows the tragic deaths of thousands of fish, four white rhinos, and other wildlife and livestock due to the consumption of water contaminated with cyanobacteria from Lake Chivero.
In a formal letter to the city council, ZLHR, representing the Harare Wetlands Trust, emphasized the urgent need for immediate action to resolve this critical situation.
“From our client’s professional experience and expertise, our client reasonably believes that the pollution by cyanobacteria in Lake Chivero is caused by the City of Harare’s conduct of constantly dumping raw sewage effluent in Lake Chivero over the years.
“Our client, being a not-for-profit organisation whose main objective, inter alia, is the environmental protection of all water bodies and aqua biodiversity and aqua deeply concerned that this dire situation can lead to the loss of animal life, aqua 1 aqua bio-diversity.
“Our client also understands that people carry out fishing activities in Lake Chivero in which they obtain fish for resale and consumption. This has a ripple effect on people consuming contaminated fish,” the letter reads.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has confirmed that raw sewage, primarily originating from Harare’s Marimba area, is the primary source of water pollution in Lake Chivero.
The Harare Wetlands Trust also raised concerns that the cyanobacteria contamination renders the water in Lake Chivero hazardous and unsuitable for human use and consumption. The trust emphasized that the city council has a legal and moral obligation to address this critical situation.
“Furthermore, in terms of section 4 (2) (g) of the Environmental Management Agency, your conduct of discharging raw sewage effluent into Lake Chivero being one of the causes of the cyanobacteria pollution, you are legally obliged to bear the duty of decontaminating Lake Chivero as well as the burden of taking preventive measures to ensure that the cyanobacteria pollution does not recur or is otherwise minimised in future.” the letter stated.
The Harare Wetlands Trust has issued a strong demand to the city council to immediately cease the discharge of raw sewage into Lake Chivero.
Meanwhile, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) and the Harare Residents Trust (HRT) has called for immediate government action to address a growing ecological disaster at Lake Chivero, which supplies water to Harare.
Speaking at a press briefing in Harare today, Reuben Akhili, Director of CHRA, warned of dire consequences if the situation is not swiftly addressed.
“We call on the authorities to urgently intervene to address the ecological disaster at Lake Chivero.
“The pollution is killing wildlife, aquatic life, and livestock while also compromising water quality and quantity in Harare,” Akhili said.
