Govt urged to let Mutare City manage Fern Valley Dam

Mutare (New Ziana) –A local youth oriented rights group, Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA) has urged the government to grant the Mutare municipality authority to manage the Fern Valley Dam, situated a few kilometres south west of the city.

The call follows the shocking discovery on 5 September of countless dead fish and other aqua life floating all over the lake in what residents of the area and environmental authorities suspected to be a case of water poisoning by local fishmongers.

After taking samples of water and dead fish, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has since released results which show that there was no poison in the dam.

Following the announcement of the results, MAYA is urging the government to resolve the dispute over ownership of the dam and let the City of Mutare to manage it.

“City of Mutare must be authorized to run and maintain the dam. We understand there are ownership issues involved, but we however believe the local authority is better placed to protect and manage the dam,” it said.

“EMA must also up its game and be more visible lest very soon, there will be no environment for it to manage.

“Furthermore, since this is more of a public health matter, we await quick action by all concerned stakeholders especially EMA and the Health Ministry,” said the civic rights group.

New Ziana