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Bulawayo – Mayor David Coltart has sounded the alarm over escalating riverbank mining, describing it as a national environmental emergency with serious implications for urban water security — particularly for Bulawayo, whose supply dams lie in vulnerable catchment areas.
Addressing a full council meeting, Coltart said while riverbed mining is widespread across Zimbabwe, its impact becomes far more destructive when it encroaches on catchments that feed supply dams.
He revealed that engagements with senior government officials, including security leadership and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, began two years ago in an effort to push for a coordinated national response to the growing crisis.
“This is a national existential crisis,” Coltart said.
He cited Mazoe Dam, reportedly now about 30 percent full due to similar environmental degradation. In contrast, he noted that Harare’s main supply dams — Lake Chivero and Manyame Dam — are situated in largely urban catchments that are less exposed to mining activities.
“Where mining invades supply catchments, cities are put at risk,” he warned.
Call for Accountability and Stronger Enforcement
Ward 2 Councillor Adrian Rendani Moyo echoed the mayor’s concerns, warning that illegal mining along rivers and near dams threatens water sources, ecosystems and the long-term future of the city.
Moyo questioned how heavy machinery continues to operate openly in restricted areas and demanded clarity on who authorises such activities — and who is responsible for enforcing the law.
He called for urgent, coordinated action involving central government, relevant ministries, local authorities and law enforcement agencies. Among the measures proposed was granting municipal police arresting powers to strengthen enforcement efforts.
Moyo described the situation as a “national disaster” driven by well-resourced networks operating with apparent impunity.
“Once we tamper with raw water supplies, the whole city is doomed,” he said, stressing that the crisis is generational and must be escalated to the highest levels of government.
A National Approach Needed
Both leaders agreed that safeguarding water catchments requires a holistic, nationally coordinated strategy to halt riverbank mining before irreversible damage is done.
With supply dams increasingly under pressure, city officials say the protection of raw water sources must now be treated as a matter of urgent national importance.
