Harare's disappearing hills

From a distance, the jagged ridgelines cutting across parts of Harare might appear to be natural geological remnants — monuments of the city's ancient terrain. But up close, these formations tell a different story. In suburbs such as Kambuzuma, Warren Park, Mabvuku, and Aspindale, entire hillsides have been carved away by unchecked gravel extraction, leaving homes perched precariously beneath eroding slopes and residents living in constant fear of disaster.

Heavy trucks rumble through these communities daily, collecting gravel from hills now stripped bare. The tremors from their passage shake nearby houses, with some developing structural cracks. "You hear the trucks, the ground shakes and all you can do is hope it holds for one more night," said Chiedza Mavheneka, a resident of Kambuzuma whose house lies below one of the extraction sites. "Each rumble sounds like disaster creeping closer."

The growing crisis is being driven by construction demands. Gravel extracted from the hills is sold for housing slab backfilling, road maintenance, and in many cases, is dumped into wetlands to create foundations for new developments. A shift manager for one trucking company, speaking anonymously, said many cooperatives enlist them to level hilly areas for future home construction. "Most of this gravel we sell ends up on wetlands," he admitted.

But this trade-off — sacrificing long-term environmental stability for short-term development — has become increasingly dangerous. According to Precious Shumba, director of the Harare Residents Trust, the situation is particularly dire in places like Warren Hills. "The environmental degradation at Warren Hills has been of concern to the residents of Harare for a long time," he said. "The people involved in gravel mining are not remitting any of their revenues to the community. The roads are damaged, the hills desecrated. In a few years, Warren Hills will be history."

The destruction is widespread and, in many cases, illegal. While the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) says the City of Harare operates under an approved Environmental Management Plan (EMP) in some zones, extraction in areas such as Kambuzuma and Mufakose is not authorised. "We monitor the activities based on the plan produced by the council," said EMA spokesperson Amkela Sidange. "But activities in open spaces near Kambuzuma and Mufakose are illegal. We are issuing environmental protection orders and fines."

Residents, however, accuse authorities of selective enforcement and turning a blind eye to politically connected culprits. "People with connections keep mining. Ordinary citizens face punishment," Shumba said.

Despite numerous attempts to get a response, Harare City Council has remained silent on what measures it is taking to address the crisis. The city's inactivity comes despite by-laws, like the 2014 Harare (Protection of Marginalised Land) regulations, clearly prohibiting excavation on wetlands, hills, and slopes without appropriate licensing from EMA.

EMA warns that once wetlands are disturbed, they can take centuries to recover, and the degradation has ripple effects: erosion, polluted water sources, increased flooding, and loss of biodiversity. A 2022 report by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) titled Environmental Crime and Urban Land Degradation in Zimbabwe notes that land barons and cooperatives are leading the destruction in Harare's ecologically sensitive zones. The report argues that these actions deepen poverty by displacing residents, damaging infrastructure, and contaminating water sources.

Minister of Local Government and Public Works Daniel Garwe said environmental issues are now being prioritised. He revealed that Cabinet recently approved the Urban State Land Management Policy to improve land use transparency. "We've mandated local authorities to work with EMA to curb illegal land use. Even licensed companies must be monitored. Any deviation from agreed terms must be punished," he said.

Garwe also acknowledged that Harare has over 500 outdated by-laws and that a review is underway with the Attorney-General's Office. He said a new climate and environmental policy for the city aims to empower residents to participate in sustainable development efforts.

But for residents like Mavheneka, time is running out. She pointed to a crack in her veranda that began forming after heavy rains last year and has grown with each passing truck. "If I had another place to go, I would have left. But I don't. So I wait. And I hope."

The gravel that is ripped from the city's hills is not just being transported for construction; it is often dumped into wetlands, laying the foundation for further environmental disaster. This has left Harare vulnerable not only to flooding but to the slow, irreversible erosion of its ecological fabric.

Local Government Minister Garwe insists the government is serious about enforcement, saying "the days of land baronism are over." But activists warn that without immediate, coordinated action, Harare's hills — and the communities living beneath them — may not survive the next rainy season.

"The hills won't wait for bureaucracy," Shumba said. "What we need now is urgent, inclusive action to protect lives and restore our natural heritage."