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Woes to a beloved river
By
Pilirani Semu-Banda - 01-11-2002 |
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Shire under threat as experts bang heads
Shire River, Lake Malawi’s sole outlet, is the longest and the country’s most important water resource.
Without it there would be no hydro power generation in the country. Neither could there be irrigation on the vast sugar plantations of Nchalo in Chikwawa.
Villagers in the districts where the river passes through— Mangochi, Machinga, Blantyre, Chikwawa and Nsanje— get proteins for their diet from the fish which they catch from the river.
Were it not also for the river, the villagers would have difficulties getting water for drinking, washing and bathing.
And then there is the tourism industry which would also suffer some setbacks if the Shire was not there because it provides some interesting and rare attraction in the many crocodiles and hippopotamus at the Liwonde National Park, among other places.
In a nutshell the river, which flows 402 km from the southern tip of Lake Malawi into the Zambezi River in Mozambique, is the backbone of the country because it plays a major role in many sectors of life.
But this very important river, regarded as invincible for a long time, is now under great threat and experts confirm that its profile is being affected by different kinds of environmental problems.
For the past four years, environmentalists have been warning that the river, which dried up 80 years ago because of drought, can go dry again as it has been invaded by floating grass islands which include water hyacinth.
But at a recent gathering of stakeholders at Kamuzu Barrage in Liwonde, which included representatives from commerce and industry, environment and forestry, energy and fisheries departments, it was disclosed that another major threat to the river, siltation, is being ignored.
The barrage regulates the water flow from Lake Malawi and provides flood control on the river.
Secretary for Environmental Affairs Ben Mbewe said at the meeting that the problems on the river have been caused by an extensive range of environmental degradation which include poor land use, river fluctuations, catchment management and effects from wildlife on the banks of the river.
He said because of all these problems, all the sectors which depend on the river have been affected as it is no longer flowing properly.
“We have to do something very urgent to save the river,” said Mbewe.
But while Mbewe’s plea was urgent, the stakeholders— who have known of the problems for some years— tend to keep on “banging heads” and formulating strategies with no long term plan in sight. All this is happening while the degradation on the river continues unabated.
Colin Sykes, who has been operating a river boat safari on the Shire for 30 years, said the floating grass islands were reported as far back as 1850 although it was not regarded as a big problem then.
“Now the problem is extensive. We see a lot of grass islands coming especially after the first rains,” said Sykes.
He said he has been part of the group trying to get rid of the water hyacinth and some water cabbages by introducing some beetles on the river and by removing the weeds manually.
Sykes said five years ago the river nearly dried up again due to the same problems of siltation and floating islands.
He added the situation somehow improved over the past few years only to recur again now.
“The weeds are sealing off the barrage and it is bad for some of us who use the river,” said Sykes.
Peeping through the spaces on the barrage, one can see all sorts of grass growing close together and blocking the barrage.
Deputy Chief Executive for Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) Allexon Chiwaya said the weeds and the poor quality water on the barrage and the river as a whole have forced the organisation to close down two stages of power generation, making it difficult to provide electricity in the country.
“We now need up to US$8 million (K640 million) to repair the screens that were damaged and forced us to close the two stages,” said Chiwaya.
Irrigation Controller at the Sugar Corporation of Malawi (Sucoma) Watson Ligomba, said there is now not as much water as there used to be in the river for irrigation.
Ligomba said his company, which is the biggest consumer of electricity and whose product— sugar— is currently the second biggest foreign exchange earner for Malawi, is also getting affected by the closure of the two stages of electricity generation.
“We use up to 20 megawatts of power and if Escom has to cut down on power supply we get badly affected,” said Ligomba. How many megawatts does Escom produce?
Fisherman Kaliwo Magwira from Balaka said it was getting more difficult to catch fish on the river because of the same problems.
“Most fish are failing to breed because of the unsuitable living conditions currently on the river,” said Magwira.
Chief Machinjiri of Blantyre said the water levels on the river were going down with every passing day.
“We are waiting for the experts to put an end to this. We want this river to be saved before it dries out completely,” said Machinjiri.
And then there is the problem of the barrage, which according to Mbewe, has outlived its life span by almost 17 years. The barrage was built in 1965.
He also said that one of the 14 gates which make up the barrage was not functioning.
“The barrage needs urgent attention before a disaster happens,” said Mbewe.
But Director of Roads Collins Kumangirana said that the bridge, which has gone beyond its 20-year life span, cannot be rendered useless, saying the issue was “just technical”.
“The 20-year life span is just design life. It only means that we need to maintain the bridge,” said Kumangirana.
But he admitted that the bridge has not been given any attention although its “design life span” expired 17 years ago because of lack of funds.
As if the river has not caused enough problems, a diplomatic row has been brewing between Malawi and Mozambique.
The Department of Environmental Affairs was blamed for failing to control the flow of the Shire River thereby contributing to the floods that hit Mozambique in 2000.
But Mbewe said the issue that Malawi was releasing a lot of water through the Zambezi River was “just a misconception”.
He said the water is being controlled by the barrage.
“We are convincing our Mozambican counterparts that the accusation is not justifiable,” said Mbewe.
But with no long term solution is insight, the people of this country can only wait with baited breath to have their confidence restored in the river they are so dependent on. A river they are so proud of for its spectacular stretch of gorges and cataracts. |
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