Staff Reporter

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing has expressed concern over ongoing developments on wetlands, which serve as crucial natural filters for water purification.

While addressing journalists, Chairman of the Portfolio Committee for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing and Nyanga North Legislator, Supa Mandiwanzira emphasized the detrimental impact that such development has on the water quality thereby impacting on its suitability for consumption.

"The wetlands are gazetted and the likes of Environmental Management Agency (EMA) are shocked to see development going on, on wetlands which are already gazetted, which the Local Authorities are aware that these lands are not supposed to be built on," Mandiwanzira stated.

Mandiwanzira said that there is a method of ensuring every one gets clean water from the tap and not just drill boreholes everywhere.

"The council is responsible for making sure that access to water is regulated; people don't just drill boreholes everywhere and that there is a method to ensure that everybody gets clean water. There are challenges in that a lot of the water is not clean and the water supply is affected by things like development on wetlands," he added.

Meanwhile, Honourable Mandiwanzira highlighted a suggestion by EMA of an environment fund to be funded by money from carbon tax.

"It was raised that the Environment fund which is a creation by statute should actually be funded in order for them to step in where the local authorities, in this case, city of Harare, is failing. So the fund must actually be funded by revenue coming from the carbon tax and common tax as you may be aware is about 0.03 cents per every litre of fuel on the price of fuel. 0.03 cents must go into the carbon tax fund," he explained.

Wetlands play a pivotal role in maintaining environmental health and sustainability. Acting as natural water filters, they help remove pollutants, recharge groundwater, and mitigate flooding. The development of wetlands not only disrupt these critical functions but also leads to increased contamination of water sources, affecting both human and ecological health.  Additionally, funding initiatives like the proposed environment fund can provide necessary resources for environmental management and restoration efforts, ensuring long-term access to clean water and the protection of natural habitats.