CIVIC society organisations (CSOs) have condemned death threats made against Bulawayo councillors following unperturbed fight against illegal gold panning in the city’s water catchment areas in Matabeleland South province.
Gold panning activities have seriously caused siltation and blocked the rain water inflows into the supply dams.
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC), in a joint operation with the police, have been conducting raids to arrest gold panners in the Esigodini area, where supply dams such as Ncema, Inyankuni, and Umzingwane are located, amid concerns over rampant illegal mining activities.
As a result, Bulawayo mayor David Coltart recently said due to these illegal mining activities, the supply dams have failed to fill up despite the heavy rains that fell across the country, thereby posing a serious water shortage threat for the city.
He said if the illegal mining activities are not curtailed, the supply dam water levels will never improve.
Of late, Bulawayo councillors have said they are being threatened with violence and political reprisals for speaking out about illegal mining activities blamed for severe land degradation in dam catchment areas that supply the city with water.
Reacting to the threats, Civic Society and Churches Joint Forum (CSCJF) national co-ordinator Max Mkandla condemned the threats and called for stringent legal action against the gold panners and those making threats against councillors.
“Following threats to councillors and to our society by lawbreakers, the government must introduce mandatory sentences of not less than 20 years behind bars as a matter of urgency against illegal gold panners and those making threats against councillors,”Mkandla said.
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“This follows threats to councillors who are trying their best to curb gold panning along rivers that supply the city dams.
“The residents are now living in fear of these gold panners operating in and around the supply dams in Matabeleland South.”
Mkandla urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to declare a mandatory sentence to such criminal cases.
During a full council meeting on Wednesday, councillors debated a report by the Future Water Supplies and Action Water Committee following a tour of supply dams in Matabeleland South, in which they expressed concerns over threats they were receiving from gold panning barons.
Councillors warned that the city council has limited authority to confront the problem, despite mounting evidence that illegal mining is taking place close to key water sources.
Ward 3 councillor Mxolisi Mahlangu said councillors who raise concerns about mining in catchment areas are often intimidated into silence.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a more difficult time to be a councillor than now,” he said.
“You have to balance saying the right things in chambers so that your continued stay isn’t threatened by recalls or other pressures.”
Mahlangu said some councillors receive phone calls warning them to stop speaking about illegal mining or risk losing their lives.
“When you speak out against such things you receive phone calls from all over, threatening people with actions if they still want their lives.”
He criticised what he described as excessive central government interference in council affairs, while failing to intervene when serious threats emerge.
“The Ministry of Local Government tells us to leave vendors alone and gives instructions on issues we are already skilled in.
“But when life-threatening interventions are needed, there is silence from all sectors.”
Mahlangu warned that illegal miners were using mercury and other hazardous substances near dams, posing serious health risks.
Ward 9 councillor Donaldson Mabuto said mining in catchment areas was endangering public health and worsening Bulawayo’s chronic water shortages.
“If we don’t address issues in one area, we will continue to suffer as a city,” he said, alleging that some people in positions of authority were sponsoring illegal mining.
He called for stronger security intervention, including the deployment of soldiers along riverbanks, to stop the activities.
Bulawayo has for years struggled with water scarcity, relying on supply dams in Matabeleland South, which local officials say are increasingly under threat from mining, farming and settlement in protected catchment areas.
The city council says it will forward its concerns to the central government and relevant law-enforcement agencies, as pressure mounts for decisive action to protect the city’s water sources.
