Sand poaching ravages 228ha of land

The growing devastation of sand poaching, illegal quarrying and brick moulding in and around Harare Province has now resulted in a total of 228 hectares of land being degraded, with 310 open pits being dug.

The fight back by the authorities is now intensifying, with substantial fines being levied to remove the huge profits in some of this business, although leaks of forthcoming raids within some local authorities are lessening the effect.

According to latest reports the ongoing blitz organised by key actors including local authorities, police and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) in Harare Province, the raids have resulted in 12 tickets in three days, with assessed fines of $420 000 being issued.

“In the areas raided, it was noted that 228,1 hectares of land has been degraded with a total of 310 open pits dug by illegal sand miners,” reads the report.

“Subsequently, five vehicles were issued with tickets for illegally transporting sand without a permit from the Environmental Management Agency, one for illegal sand mining and six for selling sand at undesignated sites.

“The purpose of the operation was to reduce these illegal activities from taking place and to ensure environmental compliance is upheld by all citizens. The operation began on April 28 to May 1, 2021.”

A report compiled by EMA says the focus of the blitz was on illegal sand miners, transporters, roadside sand sellers and brick moulders activities that led to the serious land degradation.

“Harare Metropolitan Province is facing serious challenges of land degradation emanating from illegal activities which include sand mining and brick moulding,” reads the report.

“The Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC) organised a joint sand/brick moulding operation with key actors which include local authorities in Ruwa, Epworth, Chitungwiza and Harare, ZRP and EMA.

“The purpose of the operation was to reduce these illegal activities from taking place and to ensure environmental compliance is upheld by all citizens. The operation managed to issue a total of 12 tickets with an assessed fine of $420 000.”

The report also noted that the blitz operations conducted in Epworth and Chitungwiza were affected by tip-offs to the illegal sand miners and transporters by some officials, hence both operations were compromised in those local authorities.

It is suspected that the sand poachers work with some city workers, especially those from municipal police who are supposed to stop the illegal activities.-herald.cl.zw