Mazabuka DC calls for protection of Magoye river
By Staff Reporter
Mazabuka District Commissioner Jane Chirwa has called for quick action to protect the Magoye River which provides water resources to over 300,000 people in Monze, Mazabuka and Pemba districts.
Officiating at a Local Water Management Plan (LWMP) workshop yesterday, Chirwa said urgent measures were needed to protect the Magoye River from becoming extinct due to human activities such a sand mining and deforestation.
She observed the protection of the water resources in the Magoye River was important to ensure the sustainability of the river system for future generations.
She added that all human activities such as livestock grazing were now dependent on the Kafue River which was also facing serious environmental challenges.
“We need to seriously come up with steps or plans on how to save the Magoye River which provides water to over 300,000 people in the three districts from extinction due to detrimental human activities such as sand mining and cutting down of tress on the riverbanks. If we fail to look after the Magoye River then the Kafue river will suffer a similar fate in the near future as most of human activities are now concentrated on the latter,” she said.
The objective of LWMP is to mobilise water users and various stakeholders to plan for the rational use of water resources and future development of the Magoye river basin micro-catchment area.
She further thanked the Germany International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) for providing the technical and financial support to develop the status report for Magoye and the LWMP to be developed soon.
And representatives of Ufwenuka and Chona chiefdoms Macman Haamando and Emmanuel Kalulu welcomeed the idea of protecting the water resources in the area as they had now come to appreciate the realities of climate change with the effects of the dry spell of the 2018/2019 season.
