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Harare City Council fined USD$15 000 for pollution
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)
January 16, 2012

Harare City Council has been fined $15 000 for improper waste management. The charges were that CoH has been discharging raw sewer into water bodies, poor solid waste management and illegal allocation of residential and commercial stands on protected wetlands. The hearing took place on 12 January 2012 and was conducted by the Environmental Management Agency (E.M.A). EMA is the custodian of the environmental laws and it exists to make sure that residents have got an access to a clean and safe environment.

As much as we welcome the judgment, we feel that more should have had been charged given the gravity of the case. $15 000 is not enough a punishment for a local authority racking in thousands of dollars each day through fines and other sources of revenue. City of Harare is mandated to ensure that residents access a clean and safe environment but lately, this has been the opposite with the former being the sole culprit responsible for the greater pollution of the environment an arrangement which means that council is flouting its own by-laws. Harare municipal water has been dumped by many residents who have opted for borehole water because it is generally regarded as safe. The City does not have enough chemicals to treat the water which it polluted hence creating a health hazard for many. The typhoid outbreak that is troubling many residents in the southern suburbs can also be linked to the poorly treated water that is being supplied by City of Harare.

The allocation of residential stands on wetlands has also been a cause of concern which has seen organizations like CHRA and other ward residents associations petitioning Council to urgently reconsider its actions. Harare city councilors should formulate watertight policies that protect the environment whilst providing a guarantee for residents' access to clean and safe water.

Visit the CHRA fact sheet

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