GOVERNMENT is set to introduce new legal measures to curb environmental damage along rivers and water bodies as part of wider efforts to protect water supplies and boost agricultural production.
The measures include three new statutory instruments targeting illegal mining and environmental degradation, with authorities also planning to rehabilitate damaged rivers and dams across the country.
Speaking during a monthly coordination meeting with Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Dr Anxious Masuka said government was intensifying efforts to protect key water sources critical to agriculture and national food security.
“There is an interministerial Statutory Instrument 188 of November 2024 banning alluvial mining. We will now have three SIs to complement that. SI 188 is still in force. No alluvial mining is allowed,” he said.
Dr Masuka said security agencies would be deployed to enforce the ban through continuous monitoring.
“The security sector will be directed to conduct a 24-hour surveillance system so that there is no alluvial mining,” he said.
He added that President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to declare heavily degraded rivers a state of disaster in the coming days.
“The President will invoke his Presidential powers to declare degraded rivers a state of disaster in the coming few days,” Dr Masuka said.
Government is also introducing a “polluter pays” framework to compel those responsible for environmental damage to fund rehabilitation efforts.
“We are invoking the polluter pays statutory instrument, which means that because rivers were degraded, they must be rehabilitated by those who caused damage,” he said.
Authorities have set a three-month window to rehabilitate affected rivers and dams, including Mazowe Dam.
“We shall have a three-month window to quickly rehabilitate rivers and dams such as Mazowe Dam. We will need to engage contractors who are capable,” Dr Masuka added.
Meanwhile, Minister of Lands and Rural Development, Honourable Vangelis Haritatos said his ministry will prioritise completing the land reform process and strengthening land administration systems.
“We need to do a stock take of the land reform so that we can declare land reform is done. We must establish and strengthen land administration. We shall integrate all existing land information management,” he said.
Mashonaland Central Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Christopher Magomo said favourable yields were being recorded in several areas.
“As we speak, 70 percent of maize is good. Farmers are currently harvesting and marketing their crops. Yields are being recorded as high as six tonnes for maize and four tonnes for soya beans,” he said.
Government says improved coordination between ministries and provincial structures is expected to strengthen agricultural productivity and national food security.
