Dande gullies threaten Mushumbi

Manyame River bank erosion has formed a gully that is eating away six metres of land close to Mushumbi Shopping Centre in Mbire District every rainy season threatening to form another river that will isolate the shopping centre, Chitsungo Mission Hospital and residential stands.

Mbire Rural District Council chief executive Mr Claudious Majaya said another gully at the confluence of Dande River and Hunyani River is heading towards Government offices.

So far three chalets owned by Tsetse Control Unit have been swept away by the river and at Mushumbi shopping centre the gully is now 900 metres away.

Mr Majaya said a major disaster was likely to occur in about three years if nothing is done.
“The river banks are collapsing about six metres of land each rainy season. There is also a migration of baseflow below the river bed threatening to form another river close to the shopping centre from Manyame River,” said Mr Majaya.

“The gully is 900 metres away from Mushumbi shopping centre and if another river is formed this will affect the bridge to Chitsungo Mission Hospital at the upper side and render the whole growth point inaccessible.

“The shopping centre will not be accessible from Chitsungo or from Kanyemba. The river will flow between the shopping centre also leaving residential stands isolated. The same problem is happening along Hunyani Bridge to the south where Dande River flows into Hunyani River.

“The galleries are eating land northwards of Government offices. During the last rainy season a chalet belonging to Tsetse Control Unit was swept away and another was also swept away the previous year.

Mr Majaya said the threat has grown beyond their capacity as a local authority and they are seeking assistance from relevant ministries.

“This problem started long back and it is something we have known for quite sometime. We brought the issue before the Ministry of Local Government Public Works and National Housing and the Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry,” he said.

“We had to approach our provincial offices after attempts to look for funding from embassies was fruitless. This was because the problem was beyond us as a local authority.
“At the moment we don’t have any solution because this requires expertise. The threat has grown beyond our capacity.”