Sand poaching out of control in Zimbabwe

The house building boom across Harare, Zimbabwe has caused land degradation as the scramble for building sand has fuelled rampant sand poaching. Truck loads of sand are transported daily from illegal extraction locations dotted across the city to construction sites; but as the sand poachers smile all the way to the bank they leave behind yawning craters on the earth's surface. Harare Residents Trust Director Precious Shumba blamed the absence of law enforcement agencies in the community as a major driver of the uncontrolled sand poaching. Shumba added that there was need for concerted efforts from the City of Harare, civic organizations and the government to combat sand poaching.

Whilst the Harare Residents Trust, Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and other likeminded organizations look for ways to deal with the rampant sand poaching in Harare the poachers continue with their activities. Comas Nyoni, a poacher based at Malvern Mahachi Heights near Irvine’s says sand- poaching is the only source of income for the more than seventy youth involved in the practices; “There is high unemployment and sand poaching is helping us sustain our livelihoods, I think it’s better for us to fend for ourselves rather than to end up as robbers,” he said.



However residents in the suburbs where poachers operates are unhappy and are desperate for government intervention, Builders in the areas feel that as long as there are price discrepancies between the sand provided by the poachers and that from the formal market poaching will be difficult to eradicate. Joshua Nyamande, a builder said, “Sand poaching is providing cheap sand for most people and as long as the prices on formal markets are high I don’t see the practice ending.”

Sand poachers sell their sand at prices ranging from $40-$50 per five cubic metres whilst the same amount of sand can be bought from $100-$120 on the formal market. The (EMA) says it cannot eradicate sand poaching on its own. The organization’s Communications and Publicity officer Steady Kangata said everyone had a responsibility to ensure that sand poaching is eradicated. “The police, city council and the communities where these crimes are committed must play a role, we do carry out patrols in the areas but there is need for stricter measures to deal with the problem.” Until a lasting solution is found sand poaching will continue to cause land degradation around Harare.