A CATASTROPHIC environmental disaster is unfolding in Harare as wetlands in Borrowdale, Vainona and Mt Pleasant are being ravaged by invaders, imperiling the Gwebi River and homes on the edges of the wetlands.
A Truth Diggers investigation reveals a trail of destruction, pollution and corruption, with far-reaching consequences.
A three-month investigation has observed heavy machinery, including excavators, bulldozers, front-end loaders and tractors, deployed to dig up the wetlands, lay sprawling carpets of big granite rocks and excavate massive trenches, effectively killing the entire ecosystem.
The Gwebi River, which flows through the wetland, snaking down to Lake Chivero, is being polluted by raw sewage and sludge, awaiting the rains to transport it downstream.
The destruction is widespread. Appearing like there is a land grab race on the wetlands.
The invaders are going for broke; digging up and breaking sewage pipes, excavating massive trenches to drain water out of the wetland and laying tonnes of granite rock on hectares of wetland.
Concrete structures are going up everywhere on the wetlands, where both commercial and residential stands are being parcelled out.
The latest invasion is on Lanner Avenue and Bargate/Mt Pleasant Golf Course, where a Chinese national claims to have title deeds for the land.
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However, this is impossible, as the land is designated as a wetland.
“It’s a huge concern,” said a resident, Debbie Swales.
“He’s about to construct a warehouse on top of the sewer systems, which, since the land has been fenced off and bulldozed and pipes broken, the sewage is leaking all over the wetland.”
The situation is dire. If construction continues, the entire wetland from Teviotdale to Harare Drive will be destroyed.
“It’s too late for some of the wetlands between Borrowdale Road and Teviotdale,” Swales said.
“But with more awareness and understanding of laws and human rights, we can act upon these illegal activities.”
A resident living along Borrowdale road said: “Some of the structures that are going up on the wetland are very close to the river’s edge heaven help them when the floods come!
“With all the construction upstream on the Borrowdale part of the wetland, during the rains, the flooding will be massive as there is nowhere for the water to go now that the wetland has been built on.”
Concerned residents have petitioned authorities, gathering over 1 450 signatures in a single day, and have alerted the Harare Wetlands Trust, Environment Management Authority (EMA) and local officials.
However, the destruction continues, with several invaders, including Chinese nationals, claiming ignorance of Zimbabwean laws or producing dubious documentation.
The petition highlights the severity of the situation and demands action from authorities to halt the destruction, protect the wetlands and hold perpetrators accountable.
“We urge you to take immediate action to stop the destruction of wetlands,” it reads.
“The consequences of inaction will be catastrophic.”
The fate of the Gwebi River, surrounding homes in Mt Pleasant, Vainona and Borrowdale and the local environs hangs in the balance, they said.
“We’ve been observing developments on the wetlands for years, but it’s escalating at an alarming rate,” Swales said.
“We decided to take action, engaging Harare Wetlands Trust, EMA and our district office.”
Truth Diggers have followed the destruction over the past three months collecting pictorial, video and oral evidence of this environmental disaster.
“Graders, front-end loaders and other excavation machinery have been deployed here over several months,” Swales said.
“They’re digging up the wetlands and dumping tonnes of rock on the drying ground, killing the wetlands, along with the entire ecosystem."
Masses of granite rocks have been brought and spread on the wetland at some location at the end of the Mt Pleasant Golf Course, where it joins Harare Drive.
The wetland goes over Harare Drive into the big wetland area of Art Farm, where a cluster of new commercial buildings have been built.
At some places on the same wetland, bulldozers have dug up and broken sewage pipes between Chartsworth and Vargate roads close to where the City of Harare sewage pumping station is located.
The broken pipes lie along Gwebi River spilling sludge and sewerage into the river, which will transport it down to Lake Chivero when the rains come.
The sewage house has been overwhelmed over the years and already had leakage challenges before this latest damage.
Also within the pump house vicinity are a gated cluster houses under construction that are said to belong to some powerful officials.
The excavators have also been digging up massive trenches, tearing across the wetland and running along the Gwebi riverbank to drain water out of the wetlands, drying them up for construction.
The dug out soil is piled along the river edge, where it is gradually sliding into the river, suffocating it.
Truth Diggers investigations established that all the destructive activities on the wetlands are either fraudulently sanctioned by corrupt City of Harare officials or by people that may have been duped by unscrupulous land barons who issue them with fake permission letters or title deeds.
Among the wetland invaders are Chinese nationals, who, in interviews, displayed ignorance about the laws governing land acquisition in Zimbabwe.
One of them said he was given permission to build a warehouse on the wetland by Parliament.
In terms of section 49(3) and (4) of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act [Chapter 29:12] of 1996, regarding the development on the Vainona/Mt Pleasant wetlands, including Bargate Road and Lanner Avenue, one cannot obtain title deeds for portions of public open space reservations without the consent of the Minister of Local Government.
Truth Diggers investigations also established that six months ago, in March, residents from Northwood, Vainona and Mt Pleasant queried the development on this wetland.
A visit to the wetland last week confirmed the erection of a tall green fence and the clearance of the land by a bulldozer.
Residents said Mt Pleasant council office was informed and the area administrator attended the scene in April 2024, accompanied by development control officers.
The officials demanded proof of ownership of the land from the Chinese national who was making the developments and he produced what appeared to be a title deed.
He, however, did not have documents permitting the development that was taking place.
The officials then stopped any further development.
But sometime around mid-May, land clearance had resumed and storage containers put there.
Elsewhere around the same wetland, another Chinese national arrived with bulldozers on April 25, 2024 to clear the land between Bargate Road and Harare Drive, residents said.
Truth Diggers saw the diamond mesh fence erected around this vast area of wetland encompassing the Gwebi River, stretching across the river to the houses beyond.
Truth Diggers also obtained a video in which a Chinese man tells curious residents that he was given permission to build a warehouse there by “Parliament”.
“When he was asked to produce papers to prove his claims, he produced an A4 paper with a hand-drawn sketch map on it,” one of the residents, who confronted the Chinese man, said.
Sometime in May 2024, development was noticed along Chatsworth Road near the City of Harare sewage pump station.
Truth Diggers visited the area last week and found that a fence had been erected and a well had been dug on the far corner of the fence.
An excavator had been used to open up a big trench measuring about 30 metres by one metre along the road leading to the pump house.
Residents said Harare City Council reacted quickly to stop further digging or development on the wetland as sewage lines leading from Vainona, Mt Pleasant and beyond were compromised.
A visit to the area last week showed that the invader has not returned.
Last Friday, City of Harare deployed bulldozers to the area and several wooden shacks were pulled down.
Major developments, including the cluster houses, were, however, left standing.
This investigation also found a great deal of development along Snipe Avenue, off Chatsworth Road, where plots have been demarcated and construction has begun on some plots, including walls, fences, wooden shacks, water tanks and house foundations.
Residents said they had reported this, adding that officials at council’s Cleveland House offices were dealing with the invasion.
The Friday demolitions could be part of the reaction.
Council had not responded to questions up to the time of publication.
“At one time, we were told that a bulldozer had been deployed to destroy all construction on the wetland, but it had failed to come because there was no fuel,” said a resident who asked not to be named.
Wetland invasion has severe implications.
Flooding will exacerbate, threatening homes and lives.
Water pollution will worsen, posing health risks to surrounding communities.
The ecosystem is being disrupted, destroying natural habitats.
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year round or for varying periods of time during the year.
They can be found along rivers or other water bodies like dams and are characterised by unique plant and animal communities adapted to these conditions.
Wetlands are invaluable to the environment and people for whom they bring many benefits including water filtration, flood control, habitat diversity, carbon storage to help regulate climate as well as recreation and tourism.
