Civil Society Sounds Alarm Over Lake Chivero Cyanobacteria Contamination

Harare, Zimbabwe — Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) focusing on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Environment, and Climate Change have raised serious concerns following the cyanobacteria contamination in water sources at Lake Chivero Recreational Park, as reported by the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
Speaking at a press briefing in Harare on Tuesday, the Forum’s spokesperson, Mr. Goodlife Mudzingwa, expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the crisis and its implications for public health.
While the Forum acknowledged the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority’s efforts to inform the public about wildlife and domestic animal losses due to the contamination, they criticized the lack of emphasis on the potential health risks to humans. Many families rely on water from the lake, either directly or indirectly, through domestic animals and fish.
“We treat this disaster as a microcosm of the macrocosm, a tip of an iceberg on pollution of water sources in the country. It is a Damascus event on the urgency of water pollution in Zimbabwe. Water pollution has been rampant, and it manifests through microbiological, physical, and chemical contamination,” said Mudzingwa, reading from the Forum’s statement.
The Forum shed light on widespread causes of water pollution, highlighting sewer treatment plant failures, industrial effluent, and, notably, mining activities by multinational corporations. They underscored that marginalized communities, particularly women and the poor in mining regions, bear the brunt of this crisis.
In Harare, the cost of potable water has skyrocketed over the years, from USD 0.25 per cubic meter in 2016/17 to a proposed USD 2.09 per cubic meter in the 2025 budget. Mudzingwa described this as a “new kind of apartheid in the water sector,” where polluters escape accountability while vulnerable communities are left to grapple with escalating purification costs.
The Forum urged the state to impose stricter fines, arguing that current penalties are insufficient to deter offenders.
“It is more cost-effective for corporates to pollute and pay a fine than to prevent pollution,” the Forum stated.
The duplication of responsibilities between the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and Catchment Councils was flagged as a barrier to effective enforcement. The Forum questioned whether EMA should retain sole responsibility for pollution fines when human health implications, such as fish consumption from Lake Chivero, remain unaddressed.
The Forum called for robust provisions on water pollution in the ongoing reviews of the EMA Act and Water Act. They argued that leaving such critical issues to statutory instruments undermines accountability.

They also recommended a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study on sewer treatment plants and mining activities, coupled with a water security footprint scan, to gauge the full extent of pollution.
The Forum emphasized the need for the 2025 national budget to allocate significant resources toward WASH initiatives. They also proposed exclusive roles for Catchment Councils in addressing all water pollution matters.
The cyanobacteria crisis at Lake Chivero serves as a wake-up call for Zimbabwe to confront its water pollution challenges head-on.
“This is not just about wildlife; it’s about human lives. The government and all stakeholders must act decisively to safeguard our water resources,” concluded the Forum’s statement.