Source: CHRA accuses City of Harare of creating flood disaster -Newsday Zimbabwe
THE Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has blamed the recent floods that hit parts of the capital not on heavy rainfall alone, but on years of systemic spatial planning failure, corruption and neglect of drainage infrastructure by the City of Harare.
In a statement, CHRA chairperson David Pasipanodya accused the local authority of allocating housing stands on wetlands, open spaces and waterways, exposing residents to recurrent flooding and other environmental risks.
“Poor revenue inflows saw land sales becoming a lucrative source of revenue to the local authority to pay salaries for its workers,” he said.
“The situation has been further exacerbated by land invasions spearheaded by powerfully connected land barons and
the emergence of informal settlements.”
Pasipanodya said Harare’s spatial planning was driven by economic gain at the expense of environmental protection, undermining Zimbabwe’s development commitments.
“We appreciate that rural-urban migration has put pressure on land for housing and other social services for the city, but land allocation must be done in a more organised and sustainable manner,” he said.
He warned that continued disregard for environmental regulations will have long-term consequences.
“The City of Harare cannot continue to disregard the gazetted Ecologically Sensitive Areas Map in its spatial planning and expect normalcy.
“Construction on wetlands is self-destructive, counterproductive, exacerbates flooding, poses health risks and threatens long-term water and food security for the city.”
CHRA called for urgent rehabilitation and upgrading of the drainage system, the integration of the city’s environmental division into spatial planning decisions and the finalisation of Harare’s Master Plan with strict adherence to environmental laws.
Addressing journalists at Town House on Wednesday, mayor Jacob Mafume warned that the city’s littering culture, coupled with inadequate waste management, is clogging the drainage system.
“The idea is that we need to have our drainage system to quickly whisk away the water to where it is supposed to go away from areas that we critically need,” he
said.
“If you look at the pictures of our people doing drain clearing, it’s just litter that is being put there by our colleagues in the informal sector.”
The mayor threatened tough action on litterbugs.
“So one of the measures in addressing this is to be hard on litterbugs. We need to come hard on littering.
“There’s an addiction to littering that is there in the city. People want to throw things under the drain, into the drain and they clog our drainage system.
“We need to clear the drains on a regular basis and also repair them to make sure water freely moves.”
The mayor acknowledged the presence of poor drainage systems in residential areas, leaving houses filled with water.
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