“Welcome to Scenic Shurugwi”
This is an old inscription on a billboard that one sees on
approaching Shurugwi from Gweru.
A first timer might anticipate pleasing views of natural
features along Boterekwa Road —but this is not the case —the old billboards
have been overtaken by events.
There is no longer a “scenic Shurugwi” but an environmental
disaster in the making at the hands of artisanal small-scale miners (ASM) as
well as big mining companies.
Their mining activities are not in harmony with nature;
mountains are being eaten away using heavy machinery.
Shurugwi district is endowed with an array of natural
resources and is home to Boterekwa (meandering) Road, a winding road that
passes through mountains.
It is very similar to the pass near Makhado (Louis
Trichardt) in South Africa that was constructed by the same Italian firm.
The natural scenic state of freshwater streams and diverse
plant and bird species have also been affected by water pollution and land
degradation as trees and vegetation in the valley are now covered by heaps of
soil dug up in the process of gold mining.
The Boterekwa area is now famous for abandoned pits that
pose a deadly threat to both humans and livestock.
The demand for gold and chrome has spurred a rush for the
minerals by both local and foreign companies.
Locals are venturing into partnerships with foreign
companies to set up operations to mine the sought-after minerals.
The foreign companies after entering the partnerships with
the owners of the land – mainly villagers – are tasked with bringing the mining
equipment while the owners of the claim are rewarded in the form of top of the
range vehicles and some money.
As a result of the illegal mining in the area, Boterekwa
has suffered serious degradation.
Underground tunnels pose a serious risk to locals, with
many believed to have been dug beneath the main roads.
Illegal gold panning activities are taking a toll on the
flora and fauna in the scenic district of Shurugwi, destroying the latent
tourism the district is endowed with.
The land degradation caused by the miners is not only
worsening the state of the roads.
Despite police attempts to clamp down on the illegal
activity, there are still many miners working in the area.
Environmental degradation has scaled new heights since the
coming in of big players who bring state of the art machinery embarking on
illegal mining activities in the picturesque mountain range.
Some of the companies are allegedly awarded EIA
certificates for shaft mining but are surprisingly engaged in opencast mining
leading to deforestation and the siltation of rivers.
Mr Thomas Siziba of Shurugwi said it was unfortunate that
the love of money was leading to an environmental disaster
“There is a valley in Boterekwa that was famous for
freshwater streams and various plant species which used to attract a large
number of tourists every year, but today the land has been turned up-side-down
by miners and the water is polluted,” he said.
Chief Nhema said there is need for Government to rein in
some of the companies that are destroying the environment at Boterekwa and
Shurugwi.
“An environmental disaster is looming at Boterekwa and
Shurugwi at large because of the mining taking place be it from artisanal and
small to medium-scale miners to the big mines. If you walk through Boterekwa
you will cry because all the flora and fauna is gone. There are heavy machines
(bulldozers and front end loaders) eating away the mountains and soon there
won’t be trees or rivers flowing in Boterekwa,” he said.
Midlands Province mining director Engineer Tariro Ndlovu
said some companies had been forced to shut down because of illegal mining
operations.
“Mining should be done but the miners must observe the need
to work in harmony with nature. We can’t have a trail of disaster emanating
from illegal mining activities,” he said.
The Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and
Hospitality Industry, Nqobizitha Ndlovu said to curb illegal mining and
environment disaster in Shurugwi and other areas, there shall be strict
enforcement of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) by Environmental
Management Agency (EMA) in the interest of protecting the environment while
also promoting economic growth in line with National Development Strategy
(NDS1) aspirations. Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment