By Staff Writer.
Mutare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – National tree ambassador has lamented on the rate at which the environment is being destroyed exposing people to dangers of cyclone and flooding, this blog learnt.
Never Bonde, the national tree ambassador who hails from Bulawayo descended in Manicaland province this week to assess the damage on the environment on the tragedy that befell people in Chimanimani due to Cyclone IDAI.
Chimanimani District in Manicaland arguably suffered the greatest damage from Tropical Cyclone Idai that struck the province last Friday.
The damage was caused by rockfalls, mudflows and floods on steep slopes.
Bridges were either damaged or completely washed away. Some of the bridges affected include Umvumvuvu, Biriwiri, Nyanyadzi and Nyahode.
Some settlements suffered extensive damage, the likes of Ngangu towship, Kopa and St Charles Luwanga school.
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At least more than hundred people lost their lives in the tragedy while the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) hinted that close to 500 people could be missing in Rusitu Valley in Chimanimani district as rescue efforts are being hampered by damaged roads.
Efforts to rescue victims of Cyclone Idai are still underway with the military being assisted by a privately owned helicopter that is ferrying the critically injured from some of the affected areas to Mutambara Hospital and Skyline help centre.
In an interview with News of The South after a tour of Manicaland province, national tree ambassador Never Bonds said his mission of coming to Manicaland was premised on making recommendations that would be forwarded to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate for consideration in future to avoid disasters of this magnitude occurring again.
“We have come to assess and understand the circumstances surrounding the sad loss of lives and we have come to the realization that human error has seriously contributed to the tragic event.
“We have noted with deep regret that mostly stream bank cultivation is a major factor which facilitated flooding. When stream banks are cultivated, siltation takes place,” he said.
Bonde said most parts in Chimanimani district that were severely damaged by Cyclone Idai was as a result of siltation.
Siltation is the washing away of soil into rivers or streams. Now when rivers or streams are filled with soil or sand, once a little rain falls, the water will easily spill out of the river or stream banks thereby exposing or endangering fields, roads, bridges and infrastructure within vicinity.
Bonde proposed five recommendations that he claimed would help in not experiencing the disaster that had befallen people in parts of Manicaland and Masvingo. He noted that cutting down of trees must be followed by afforestation, people in mountainous areas be relocated and illegal mining activities be monitored intensively.
“We recommend villagers to stop stream bank cultivation. Community gardens are the way to go in order to solve the menace being brought about by stream bank cultivation.
” Cutting down of trees must be replaced by afforestation. Villagers must be made aware of the effects of deforestation and be advised to plant five trees each time a tree is cut. Illegal mining activities should be monitored closely making sure our environment is preserved or conserved in the mining processes. Miners should have proper mining equipment and preparedness in order to make sure all miners are ready and responsible, as they carry out their mining activities.
“People living on mountainous areas should be relocated to move better and arable lands. The mountainous places should be made available for forestry purposes. People who plant crops are likely to expose the soil thereby leaving the land prone to erosion. When rains come, the loose soil will then be washed into rivers and streams thereby causing unnecessary flooding in rivers.
“In line with all these, the Nziramasanga Commission Recommendations on Environment Management should be implemented in order to achieve our objective Ministers Oppah Muchinguri and Prisca Mupfumira are on record trying to implement the Recommendations. However lack of proper funding seems to be devilling the success of their efforts,” he noted.
Relief efforts to ease the plight of people affected by Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani has taken days to reach the epicentre of the disaster owing to impassable roads.
Manicaland provincial administrator Mr Edgar Seenza said teams have been deployed to find alternative routes that could be used to get food, medicine and other needs to the affected communities.
“We are still trying to reach the affected areas and relief teams are on the ground trying to find alternative routes to reach out to the affected communities,” said Mr Seenza.
In a separate interview, Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo said with assistance from the army and other departments, his Ministry had started assessing how much will be required to repair destroyed infrastructure.
“As we monitor the situation in Manicaland and assist the affected people we’re also assessing the extent of damage caused by the cyclone. The cyclone destroyed infrastructure in many parts of the province, especially bridges, roads, schools and homesteads.
“Unfortunately some areas are not accessible because the roads were blocked and there’s mist in the area. We’ve only managed to see half of the bridges that were destroyed. As soon as it clears and we manage to see the rest of the bridges and infrastructure we’ll be able to tell how much we need for reconstruction,” said Minister Moyo.
Meanwhile President Mnangagwa yesterday while in Chimanimani said Government will construct stronger houses for Cyclone Idai survivors.
Mnangagwa was speaking during his tour of Chimanimani to assess the damage inflicted by Cyclone Idai, which has claimed more than 100 people, displaced thousands and left hundreds of houses destroyed.
“We have lost lives due to sub-standard construction of houses. Our housing construction should change forthwith and Government will also assist in this regard. We want stronger structures to save lives,” noted President Mnangagwa.
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