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| Community fire fighting committee members being trained at Gatshe Gatshe Primary School (Pic: ZELA) |
Ward based firefighting committees were established and trained in the
12 wards that make up the Nyaminyami Rural district Council on the shores of Lake
Kariba in Zimbabwe’s Zambezi Valley. The
training was conducted by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) in conjunction
with the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the Nyaminyami Rural District
Council and took place from 31 July to 5 August 2017. The trainings and
provision of fire prevention materials supply were made possible due to support
from the UNDP –funded Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) project. In
total up to 180 community based firefighting committee members were trained.
The training was necessary since the Zambezi valley is a dry region and
historically depended on wildlife resources, which are highly affected by wild
fires.
The district’s Wards 1,2 and 4 were trained at Mola Ward Centre; Wards
5,6,and 7 were trained at Negande Ward Centre; Wards 8,9 and 10 at Musambakaruma
Ward Centre; Wards 11 and 12 at Makande Business Centre whilst ward 2 which is furthest
from the Siakobvu District Offices was trained at Gatshe-Gatshe Primary School.
The main facilitators were EMA’s Geoffrey Mafunhwa, ZELA’s Lenin Chisaira and
Action Aid Zimbabwe’s Edson Nyashanu.
The training of the ward fire fighters was opportune and long overdue.
In 2016, EMA records ranked Kariba particularly Nyaminyami District as number 4
out of the 7 districts that make up Mashonaland West Province in terms of fire
intensity and effects.
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| Map showing Fires and Land-use Affected in Kariba District in recent years (Source: EMA) |
The emphasis of the trainings was on fire prevention rather than having
to fight fires themselves. Hence the teams were provided with firefighting equipment
in the form of knapsack sprays, shovels, fire beaters, slashers, helmets and
gloves. They also received training on laws governing fire prevention in
Zimbabwe, mainly the provisions of the Forest Act and S.1. 7/2007.
“Fire issues are not new,” said Headman Seremwe from ward 5. “We have
always been uniting to fight fires and prevent fires. This training enhances
that knowledge.”
Further trainings will be conducted in August and early September as the
fire season begins. The trainings will be conducted in two other districts within
the Zambezi Valley, namely Mbire in Mashonaland Central and Binga in
Matabeleland North Province.
Pictures From the Trainings in Nyaminyami Rural
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| Training at Musamabakaruma , ward 9 |
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| The writer taking community members through fire management laws during a training at Gatshe Gatshe Primary School (Pic: ZELA) |
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| Training at Gatshe Gatshe Primary School (Pic: ZELA) |
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| Mola Ward Centre (Pic: ZELA) |
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