By Fanuel Chinowaita
MUTARE – A dispute has erupted between the Mutare City Council and environmental watchdog Mutare Rivers Rehabilitation Initiative (MRRI) over the city’s ongoing flooding crisis, with MRRI accusing authorities of negligence in protecting key ecosystems.
The clash surfaced in a heated exchange yesterday after the council attributed the flooding to uncontrolled cultivation on the city’s mountainous areas.
“The major cause of this is cultivation that is being practised in mountains, and we continue to urge our residents to stop these unsustainable practices that are causing land degradation,” the City of Mutare said in a statement, adding that it was working to resuscitate its Ranging Unit to monitor illegal activities.
However, MRRI’s Lynne James strongly criticized the city’s response, arguing that authorities had ignored repeated warnings about the destruction of waterways and wetlands over the past three and a half years.
“In three and a half years, absolutely no action has been taken to curb the rampant cultivation and deforestation of our mountains and wetlands by responsible authorities, despite the fact that you hold the law in your hands,” James said.
She further accused the council of contributing to the problem by approving developments that threaten wetlands, which act as natural flood buffers.
“And COM itself has applied for a change of land use on one of the last intact wetlands for a 23-unit housing development! Wetlands mitigate the effects of flooding! They slow the waters, they absorb the waters. They PROTECT!” she stated.
The ongoing flooding in Mutare has raised concerns about environmental management and urban planning, with critics arguing that authorities must enforce laws that safeguard the city’s natural water retention systems.
Despite the council’s pledge to revive monitoring efforts, environmentalists insist that immediate and decisive action is needed to prevent further destruction and mitigate future disasters.