{"id":1765,"date":"2026-01-27T06:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1765"},"modified":"2026-01-27T06:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:03:41","slug":"illegal-mining-choking-bulawayos-water-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1765","title":{"rendered":"Illegal mining choking Bulawayo\u2019s water sources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by MANGALISO TSHUMA & NQOBANI MATHIBELA<\/em>
BULAWAYO Executive Mayor David Coltart has raised alarm over the escalating impact of illegal gold mining along riverbanks feeding the city\u2019s major dams, warning that unchecked activities are accelerating siltation, polluting water sources and deepening the city\u2019s long-standing water crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coltart expressed concern that despite heavy rainfall across Matabeleland this season, Bulawayo\u2019s key dams and reservoirs remain far from full, unlike those in other provinces that are already overflowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He attributed this anomaly largely to widespread illegal alluvial mining within river catchments supplying the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor said the city\u2019s water sources, including Insiza Mayfair, Inyankuni, Lower Ncema, Upper Ncema, Umzingwane and Mtshabezi dams, are being severely compromised by gold panners operating along riverbanks and within river channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bad news is that I witnessed illegal gold mining in virtually every tributary, and very few tributaries were actually flowing,\u201d Coltart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn all the pools in tributaries the water is exceptionally muddy, a sign of massive erosion upstream. After so much rain these tributaries should still have been flowing but they weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coltart said he made the observations while inspecting the Umzingwane River and its tributaries. While noting that Umzingwane itself was in flood and flowing strongly, he emphasised that the condition of its tributaries was deeply troubling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo explain the significance of this I need to emphasise that the catchment has had at least 600 millimetres of rain this season so far, and last week alone recorded over 100 millimetres,\u201d he said. \u201cYet the bulk of the tributaries weren\u2019t flowing. Despite all the rain, Umzingwane Dam as at 21 January is only 30.1 per cent full.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He contrasted this with Mtshabezi Dam, which is currently full despite having a catchment area close to that of Umzingwane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe difference is that whereas Mtshabezi\u2019s catchment is mainly in the north-eastern Matopos and has hardly any gold mining, Umzingwane\u2019s catchment has been utterly devastated by illegal mining,\u201d Coltart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illegal mining on riverbanks strips vegetation, destabilises soil and causes excessive erosion. The resulting silt is carried downstream into dams and reservoirs, gradually reducing storage capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When dams silt, their ability to hold water diminishes, cutting supplies to cities even in seasons of good rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, siltation shortens the lifespan of dams, increases water treatment costs and raises the risk of severe shortages during drought years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coltart said the government\u2019s 2024 ban on alluvial mining in river courses appears to be poorly enforced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYesterday (Saturday) I saw numerous miners hard at it,\u201d he said. \u201cNearly every tributary of the Umzingwane has evidence of mining taking place. There are large camps of illegal miners. Despite this, I didn\u2019t see a single EMA (Environmental Management Agency) or ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police) patrol. These miners are continuing their illegal work with impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that failure to act would have dire consequences for Bulawayo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe consequences for our city are devastating. Government needs to bring this existential threat to an end immediately, otherwise Bulawayo\u2019s water crisis will continue, indeed worsen,\u201d Coltart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents have echoed the mayor\u2019s concerns. Mziwandile Ndlovu questioned the effectiveness of previous threats to deploy security forces, asking: \u201cFor years, the Umzingwane MP has been threatening to deploy the army to curb rampant gold panning. What came of that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney Moyo called for an immediate halt to riverbank mining, while Luke Nyamangodo said: \u201cThe mayor is raising an alarm calling for an integrated approach to environmental degradation. A holistic response is needed sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental experts stress that protecting river catchments through regular monitoring, enforcement of mining laws and adherence to recommended environmental practices is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without decisive action, continued siltation and pollution threaten Bulawayo\u2019s water security, public health and economic stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by MANGALISO TSHUMA & NQOBANI MATHIBELABULAWAYO Executive Mayor David Coltart has raised alarm over the escalating impact of illegal gold mining along riverbanks feeding the city\u2019s major dams, warning that unchecked activities are accelerating siltation, polluting water sources and deepening the city\u2019s long-standing water crisis. Coltart expressed concern that despite heavy rainfall across Matabeleland this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,44,94,97,3],"tags":[337,336],"class_list":["post-1765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-hot-topics","category-local","category-mining","category-mining-mining","category-news","tag-bulawayo-executive-mayor","tag-clr-david-coltart"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1-300x194.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1-768x496.jpg","large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1-1024x661.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1.jpg","post-thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"administrator","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"by MANGALISO TSHUMA & NQOBANI MATHIBELABULAWAYO Executive Mayor David Coltart has raised alarm over the escalating impact of illegal gold mining along riverbanks feeding the city\u2019s major dams, warning that unchecked activities are accelerating siltation, polluting water sources and deepening the city\u2019s long-standing water crisis. Coltart expressed concern that despite heavy rainfall across Matabeleland this […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Featured","Hot Topics","Local","Mining","Mining","News"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":69,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1.jpg",1280,826,false],"medium":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1-300x194.jpg",300,194,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/David-Coltart-Bulawayo-mayor-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"administrator","author_link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?author=2"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Featured<\/a> Hot Topics<\/a> Local<\/a> Mining<\/a> Mining<\/a> News<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1765"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1768,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1765\/revisions\/1768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}