The development comes after the water and environmental poisoning incident that claimed wildlife and aqua life around the lake.
Responding to questions during a media briefing at Munhumutapa Building in Harare this Thursday, the Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni described the situation at Lake Chivero as dire and called for a wholistic approach to deal with pollution and ecological disturbances in the water body.
“Going forward, we will rope in the Ministry of Health to do the finding because we want to save lives. The ban cannot be lifted now and a whole of government and stakeholders’ approach is required to reverse the situation at Chivero,” said the Minister.
With the Harare City Council complicit in the pollution of Lake Chivero, government expects the Commission of Inquiry set up by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to probe the local authority to determine its fate.
Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Dr Jenfan Muswere said, “We know that the councillors who are running Harare have failed, it is our hope that the Commission of Inquiry will determine if the councillors elected to run the authority can be replaced owing to their failures.”
Apart from the ban on fishing and fish sales at Lake Chivero, there is ongoing research on biological remediation techniques, including the use of effective microorganisms, to rehabilitate contaminated areas within Lake Chivero.
