Masvingo Province: Defortestation

Presented in the Parliament of Zimbabwe 2011 (M. Chiri (Mrs) COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL 

In Masvingo Province EMA failed to issue tickets to offenders for causing veld fires for the period 2004 to 2005 and 2009. My review of Masvingo‟s seven districts revealed that for the period 2004 to 2009 a total of 111 438 hectares were destroyed by fire. This led to loss of vegetation, pastures, huts and animals. The causes of fires were attributed to throwing of cigarette stubs, uncontrolled burning, poaching, clearing land for cultivation, unattended fires and for most fires in 2009 the causes were not stated. Of major concern was the lack of action by the provincial EMA office to address the situation for the period under review. Only one awareness meeting was held in Bikita in 2008 after 49 000 hectares had been destroyed by hunters. No prosecutions were made during 2006 to 2009 despite that 111 438 hectares of grazing land were destroyed by veld fires. A total of forty four tickets for causing veld fires were issued in 2007 and eleven tickets totaling Z$73 500 000 (US$2 450) had still not been paid for by the time of the audit. I noted that EMA was reactive rather than proactive in terms of fire management. For instance at Belinahorne farm the farmers interviewed revealed that EMA officers only issue tickets to the villagers after a fire outbreak without having done any awareness programmes pertaining to fire management. This was corroborated by the documents availed for audit which showed that no awareness programmes were done at that particular farm. Reports availed for audit revealed that Gutu district lost 6 180 hectares of arable land during 2004 to 31 October 2009. A total of 37 tickets were issued to offenders for causing fires in 2006, 2007 and 2008 while no tickets were issued for 2004, 2005 and 2009. For 2009 four (4) tickets were issued for non construction of fireguards. Tickets were also not issued for non-construction of fireguards from 2004 to 2008. At Chomfuli, Witland, Belinahorne, Dromore, Kepure and Chidza farms farmers did not construct fireguards.