Water Fight Reaches High Court as Coal Plant Planned Near Harare’s Main Reservoir
A legal battle over the future of Lake Chivero is unfolding in the High Court, where four environmental and residents’ groups are seeking to stop a proposed coal-fired power station from being built near the capital’s main water source.
BirdLife Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Wetlands Trust, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) and the Mwashuma Park Homeowners Association appeared before Justice Chidziva on 9 November, arguing that construction should not proceed while challenges to the project’s environmental approvals remain unresolved.
While the dispute centres on a coal plant, campaigners say the bigger issue is water.
The proposed power station would be built about two kilometres from Lake Chivero, the reservoir that supplies water to millions of people in Harare and surrounding communities. The site also lies within the internationally recognised Lake Chivero and Manyame Ramsar wetland.
The organisations contend that the project’s potential impact on water resources, wetlands and surrounding ecosystems has not been adequately addressed. They are also questioning the validity of approvals granted for the development.
More than a year ago, the groups appealed against an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) certificate issued by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). According to the applicants, that appeal has yet to be determined.
They argue that allowing the project to advance before that process is completed could expose one of the country’s most important water bodies to unnecessary risk.
The case has also drawn attention because the planned facility is not intended to supply electricity to the national grid. Instead, it would provide power for a Chinese-owned tile manufacturing operation.
The organisations insist they are not opposing industrial development or efforts to expand energy generation. Rather, they say large-scale projects must be subjected to proper scrutiny when they are located close to sensitive environmental assets.
The High Court is now being asked to decide whether construction should be paused until the outstanding legal and regulatory questions are resolved.
Whatever the outcome, the case has placed Lake Chivero, long at the centre of Harare’s water security, at the heart of a growing debate over how Zimbabwe balances industrial investment with the protection of critical natural resources.
