By Munashe Machekera and Christopher Kambande
Local Government and Public Works Minister Honourable Winston Chitando has approved the council’s environmental and advertising bylaws in terms of Section 227 of the Urban Councils Act.
The bylaws that were published in the Government Gazette yesterday are known as the Chitungwiza Town Council Environmental and Natural Resources Conservation By-laws, 2024, and the Chitungwiza Town Council (Advertising) By-laws, 2024.
Any person who contravenes any provision, prohibition, or obligation imposed in terms of the regulations shall be liable to a fine specified in an order of council.
Apart from setting the tone for the establishment of the Environment Committee, the environmental regulations have a number of provisions meant to protect the land, water bodies, and the atmosphere.
“Council shall establish an Environment Committee and Environment Sub-Committees whose functions and duties are as prescribed in Section 61 of the Rural District Act [Chapter 29:13], in pursuance of the need to promote environmental conservation, the development of the council area using natural resources, and environmental protection,” the bylaws read.
“In appointing the Environment Committee and Environment Subcommittees, the council shall follow the prescribed procedures and composition of the committees as set out in Section 61 of the Rural District Councils Act.”
According to environmental legislation, no one shall excavate, remove, possess, transport, or license the removal of sand, stones, pit sand, slate, pebbles, clay, and lime for commercial reasons without getting a permit from the council and furnishing it with a license obtained from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) issued in terms of Section 3 of the Environmental Management (Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Protection) Regulations, 2007.
“Any person who intends to extract sand, stones, pit sand, slate, pebbles, clay, and lime on his or her land or on council land shall apply to council stating the details of the excavation works to be conducted and submit an environmental rehabilitation plan to council, which shall also be forwarded to the EMA for consideration before any extraction or excavation is done in terms of Section 3(3) of the Environmental Management (Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Protection) Regulations, 2007,”
“On council land, the council shall have the sole authority to identify designated sites for the extraction of gravel, stones, river sand, or pit sand in the council area for commercial purposes. The Council shall periodically monitor the collection or removal of gravel, stones, river sand or pit sand, slates, pebbles, clay, and lime for non-commercial purposes.”
According to the bylaws, no person shall dispose of solid waste, effluent, or hazardous waste on land, into a public stream, or into any other surface water or ground water in the council area, whether directly or through drainage or seepage, except under a license approved by EMA in terms of the Environmental Management Act [Chapter 20:27].
The Advertising Bylaws prohibit the placement, exhibition, or display of any advertisement on any electricity standard, parking metre standard, tree, traffic sign, bridge, road furniture, traffic circle, or traffic island owned or controlled by the council.
Advertisements shall also not be placed in such a way that they create a hazard or obstacle for cars or pedestrians, or that they constitute a nuisance to adjoining property owners and the general public, or on any building, land, road, or public space prohibited by council for such advertisements.
“No person shall erect or place an advertisement on a building, land, or public place without paying advertisement fees prescribed by council through an order,” the bylaws read.
“No person shall display an advert that is immoral or offensive, likely to promote unlawful behavior, tarnish the image of the council, or contain hate language.”
