Longcheng Plaza’s legacy haunts Zimbabwe ahead of convention on wetlands

HARARE – The continued operation of Longcheng Plaza, a large shopping mall built on a wetland in Harare, stands as a prominent symbol of Zimbabwe’s ongoing struggle to enforce its environmental protection laws, Nehanda Radio can report.

As Zimbabwe prepares to host the COP15 Ramsar Convention meeting in Victoria Falls from July 23 to 31, 2025, the international spotlight will likely be on the nation’s commitment to wetland conservation.

‘Ramsar COP15’ is shorthand for ‘the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands’.

Members of Parliament this week debated an urgent motion to impose a moratorium on further wetland allocations, citing long standing concerns about unchecked development.

Completed in late 2013 on a gazetted wetland along the Harare-Bulawayo highway, Longcheng Plaza became a controversial development from its inception.

Despite its location on what is legally considered a protected ecosystem, and opposition from environmental groups, the commercial complex proceeded with construction.

In a 2018 report, Steady Kangata, then environmental education and publicity manager at the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), confirmed the mall lacked proper environmental certification, deeming its development illegal.

But the Chinese developers faced no penalties at the time, a situation that has appeared to persist in Zimbabwe. While the mall’s management asserted in 2018 that “all due processes” were observed, environmentalists continued to point to it as a prime example of lax enforcement.

This historical context highlights a critical issue brought before Parliament this week by Harare East legislator Kiven Mutimbanyoka.

During a motion calling for a nationwide moratorium on wetland allocations, he specifically cited Longcheng Plaza as “one of the most grueling examples of wetlands destruction in Harare.”

He argued that the failure to halt its development set “a dangerous precedent, demonstrating that even illegally protected wetlands could be sacrificed for commercial gain.”

Mutimbanyoka’s motion cited Zimbabwe’s constitutional and international obligations to protect wetlands, which are rapidly being converted into residential and commercial properties.

The motion highlighted that less than 5% of Harare’s 47 gazetted wetlands, including Ramsar sites like Lake Chivero, Cleveland Dam, and Monavale Vlei, remain intact.

“Since 2017, the lake has not spilled, leading to dangerously concentrated pollutants and exorbitant water treatment costs. Harare’s 47 gazetted wetlands, including three RAMSAR sites, Lake Chivero, Cleveland Dam and Monavale Vlei, less than 5% remain intact,” Mutimbanyoka stated.

“What is most egregious is that the very institutions mandated to safeguard these ecosystems are the primary agents of their ruin.

“Urban municipalities rather than upholding their custodial role, have facilitated wetland degradation through their present disregard for environmental policies. This paradox undermines a profound governance crisis.

“Authorities tasked with regulating land use are instead enabling its reckless exploitation. Their abdication of responsibilities is a fundamental driver of this environmental catastrophe, demanding urgent rectification.

“The devastation of wetlands extends far beyond environmental degradation. It has escalated into a full-blown public health crisis and economic disaster.

“Naturally, our wetlands are in a state of alarming decline. 21% are severely degraded, 61% moderately degraded, and only 18% remain in stable condition.”

The proposed resolutions include:

An immediate moratorium on land allocation in wetlands by several key Ministries, an Inter-Ministerial Commission of Inquiry to investigate past allocations and recommend remedial action and the declaration of all wetlands as ecosystem-sensitive areas to prevent future disturbance.

The dire consequences of wetland destruction, as articulated by Mutimbanyoka, include chronic water shortages due to failing groundwater recharge systems, increased urban flooding (over 50 incidents in 2023 alone), and a public health crisis evidenced by over 10,000 cases of cholera and typhoid in 2022. He further stated that Lake Chivero, Harare’s primary water source, has seen a 30% decline in water levels over the past decade, with pollution exacerbating the crisis.

Julia Pierini, coordinator of the Harare Wetlands Trust, stated in 2018 that the “will to protect the environment” was largely absent. More recent reports, including a 2022 Auditor-General’s report, corroborate that EMA often fails to enforce its own orders, with local authorities, who hold demolition powers, sometimes complicit in illegal developments.

Concerns about the integrity of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) also persist.

In 2018, Ronnie Chirimuta suggested that EMA should conduct EIAs independently, a call echoed by other environmental advocates who argue that the process is often exploited to facilitate development on wetlands.

While Zimbabwe has enacted a 2022 National Wetlands Policy and the Environmental Management Act, a recent dialogue in June 2025 indicated that current laws are “not fully protecting wetlands” and called for urgent legal reforms.