MP declares war on tree cutters

BEITBRIDGE- WHILE Zimbabwe marks National Tree Planting Day, and world
leaders meet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to consider effective responses to
global warming, a legislator has declared war on indiscriminate felling of trees.

Beitbridge East Member of Parliament, Albert Nguluvhe, says cutting down trees
should be regarded as a security threat considering its impact on both environment
and the lives of Zimbabweans as regards Climate Change.

The Forest Act, Chapter 19:05, Section 78, clearly prohibits the damage or cutting
down of any tree, whether it is on public or privately owned land.

Before any tree is cut, permission should be sought from the Forestry Commission,
the body set up to protect Zimbabwe’s forests

Nguluvhe said parts of Beitbridge District were fast becoming a desert threatening
human and animal life.

I am going to make such a recommendation in Parliament, where I am the
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security. We are
threatened by a desert and effects of climate change. People who cut trees are a
threat to our national security, he suggested.

Everyday people are driving cart loads of freshly cut green trees into Beitbridge,
threatening the environment and our future. This should be stopped and I appeal to
the local authorities to take action, he said.

Nguluvhe was speaking to more than 500 villagers and 85 participants of a 17
kilometre walkathon that preceded a Matabeleland South Tree Planting Day event at
Malala Secondary School in Beitbridge.

Among the participants were three Beitbridge female prosecutors, the managing
director of Zimborders, Nqobile Ncube, Beitbridge Town Clerk, Loud Ramakgapola,
and several shipping agents, youthful pastors from different churches and several
fitness enthusiasts.

Nguluvhe, himself a war veteran who fought in Zimbabwe’s liberation and a security
guru who served as both the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo and former
President Robert Mugabe’s top aide, said people cutting down trees should be
regarded as security threats.

"I was here when the school’s roof was blown by winds. Trees guard against that.
They guard against soil erosion. Trees provide food for us and animals, trees are
important, he said.

He asked the local authorities to enact by-laws banning the selling of firewood in
Beitbridge, hoping if the market is killed, trees would be saved.

Local Authorities should also impound carts and vehicles used to ferry firewood
from freshly felled trees. It is only ourselves who can stop these and we should do it
now, he declared.

Beitbridge West paramount Chief Tshitaudze, born David Mbedzi, said all builders of
new homes will now be asked to plant trees before laying down foundations.

He asked families to discuss the importance of trees and teach children to love trees
as these were a source of likelihood.

"As a pre-requisite to those wishing to build new homes in your areas, all village
heads must make sure the aspiring home owner must plant at least three trees
before they are approved. Families should have a culture of planting trees, which are
an important resource, said Chief Tshitauze.

Like Nguluvhe, Chief Tshitauze urged the Forestry Commission to have more
indigenous trees seedlings because the trees quickly adapted to the weather
conditions.

Guest of Honour at the function, Maxwell Muwondori, standing in for Matabeleland
South Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu, thanked
Friends of the Environment, who organised the walkathon.

He challenged the school, which received 1 000 trees at Saturday’s occasion, to
ensure the plants survived.

We want to thank the Friends of the Environment whose initiative is for 500 million
trees through these walkathons. The villagers should ensure that these trees survive.
We are lucky because these have come in the tree planting season, he said.

A consortium of organisations form the Friends of the Environment and in Beitbridge
the Nyaradzo Assurance Group co-ordinated with the District Development Co-
ordinator’s office, Zimborders and several other stakeholders to champion the
walkathon – its second edition in Beitbridge.