Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa Urged to Declare a National Disaster As Harare's Primary Water Source Becomes Deadly for People, Wildlife, Livestock and Aqua Life

Former Harare Mayor Hebert Gomba has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to declare the contamination of Lake Chivero a state of national disaster, in order to solve the whole array of challenges caused by the water poisoning.

Chivero is the primary source of water for Harare residents.

The contamination of Lake Chivero has been topical this week following an exposè by NewZimbabwe.com investigative reporter Mary Taruvinga over the weekend.

Before this four white rhinos alongside other wildlife, livestock and birds had been reported dead by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks).

ZimParks said tests had established that the deaths occurred after the animals drank cyanobacteria-contaminated water.

The contamination was widely caused by a continuous discharge of raw sewage into the lake by Harare City Council.

A visit to the lake showed it had been heavily contaminated and thousands of fish had also died.

A stretch of over a kilometre inspected by the reporter was covered with layers of rotting fish and some fish was captured dying.

The water had turned green following an algae bloom and had become smelly.

A stench smell of rotting fish and sewage-infested water engulfed the environs of the lake.

In an X Space discussion Wednesday night Gomba said the work that now lies in the way of Harare City Council is beyond its capacity to deal with and requires the government's attention.

The politician also said the city can not be blamed for what is unfolding.

"The City needs to be assisted. But it needs to be done in conformity with the law.

"My proposal is for the president to declare a state of national disaster.

"Rehabilitation of infrastructure should be from the source. The whole distribution system should be refurbished.

"It has been a disaster for too long hence we need a holistic approach and declare this a national disaster.

"The whole system has decayed. We need the whole system to be revamped," he said.

Gomba also blamed the late long-time ruler Robert Mugabe for failing to handle the situation from the time he came into power.

"Who is to blame? The late former president Robert Mugabe, the ministers who were working with Robert Mugabe whether dead or alive, even if they are holding certain offices now.

Gomba said Mugabe's government was supposed to construct the Kunzvi and Musami dams, which were supposed to be completed by 1990 but these projects failed.

"We should blame the government.

"From 1980 to now it has failed to run these affairs...Harare was supposed to get water from Kunzvi and Musami so that Chivero could be decommissioned for cleaning.

"The City Council was not able to decommission Lake Chivero because Kunzvi was not built. It was supposed to be built in 1990," he said.

Gomba said now more money is needed to solve the situation.

"We need a huge investment into our infrastructure for our water and sewer system

"Norton also needs a sewer system plan so that they don't discharge into Darwendale.

"That takes a lot of money," he said.

The government has since banned fishing operations in Lake Chivero to give space for investigations.

Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume on Tuesday told journalists that they will have a way forward after a fact-finding visit which was scheduled for Wednesday.

ZimParks has since relocated the remaining rhinos from Lake Chivero Recreational Park to a safer place among other precautionary measures.

This article was originally published on New Zimbabwe.