Masvingo in first Clean Up Campaign for the year
Brian Rungano Temba
Residents and Stakeholders of Masvingo City have joined hands to participate in the first monthly Clean Up Campaign of the year by clearing Mucheke River of Hyacinth.
The Clean-Up exercise stands out differently from others that focus on litter as it focused on cleaning and preservation effort on one of the most important rivers that feed into the City’s main source of Water; Lake Mutirikwi.
The water hyacinth clean up was coordinated by environmental activist group; Family and Friends of Rivers and Lakes (FAFORALIZ).
The initiative that was supported by stakeholders including Masvingo Toyota, Montana Meats, Nolan Trading Investments, and Masvingo City Council was a bid to restore aquatic life and remind the City of the need to keep the rivers and lakes clean as they are the main source of water in the City.
The programme was also graced by local residents association, Masvingo Service Delivery ,Residents and Ratepayers Association (MASDRRA) and pro-development organisation PAPCOZ.
FAFORALIZ chairman Mr Pianos Chadya told Tateguru TV that the clean up campaign was not only patriotic adheremence to the Presidential Decree of the monthly clean-up campaign, but also a way to unite and involve both the community and stakeholders who all depend on the Mucheke and Shakashe rivers as well as Lake Mutirikwi at large for daily water use.
“This is the Second time we have carried out such a clean up mainly focusing on removal of water hyacinth along the Mucheke river,” said Chadya.
“We have since developed an apparatus to make the exercise of removing the floating plant out of water bodies without the use of boats or cranes. We call it the Pigato Fisher and we sent it to Environmental Management Agency for assesment before we patent the idea,” said Mr Chadya.
Mr. Chadya applauded the residents for their selfless commitment to their environment which has kept Masvingo amongst some of the cleanest cities in Zimbabwe.
“I must congratulate the residents and members of the community who have volunteered to be part of the clean-up. We were afraid that they would quit halfway but they insisted we go on to clean up at Mucheke Stadium. This does not mean they did not have better things to do like hustling for their families, but they understood the importance of cleaning their environment,” he said.
“We also thank Masvingo City and their German Partners on the setting up of Kernon Park that protects the banks of Mucheke River from siltation and waste dumping. The development will assist in reducing the pollution of the water body which contributes to the growth of the Water Hyacinth weed.
The Weed is responsible for the drying up of Lakes, death of aquatic life and birds that feed on the dead fish due to the depletion of oxygen in the water.
The participation of such corporates as Montana Meats in the project reflect to their interest in preserving the environment,” he added.
The clean up campaign ran under the President’s mantra “Leaving No Place and No One Behind”.
Recent Comments