CATHOLIC COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE.

PETITION TO HIS EXCELLENCY, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE

RE: URGENT INTERVENTION TO PROTECT MONAVALE WETLAND (RAMSAR SITE) FROM UNLAWFUL AND DESTRUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Your Excellency,

We write as the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJP), an organisation committed to the promotion of human dignity, environmental stewardship, and the common good, to urgently petition Your Excellency to intervene to protect the Monavale Wetland (Monavale Vlei), a site of both national and international importance.

Monavale Wetland is one of Zimbabwe’s seven designated Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. It is not merely an environmental asset but a vital ecological system that sustains life, supports communities, and underpins Harare’s water security. At a time when Zimbabwe holds the Presidency of the Ramsar Convention, one of our Ramsar sites is under grave threat of being destroyed.

1. THE ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPORTANCE OF MONAVALE WETLAND

Monavale Wetland performs critical ecological functions essential to the wellbeing of present and future generations:

* It acts as a natural water reservoir and filtration system, releasing water into Lake Chivero via the Marimba River throughout the year.

* It mitigates flooding in downstream communities, including Warren Park, Kambuzuma, Mufakose, Kuwadzana, and Budiriro.

* It sustains rich biodiversity, including endangered and rare species.

* It provides a vital green space for recreation, education, spiritual reflection, and community life.

2. MULTIPLE AND ESCALATING THREATS TO THE WETLAND

We are gravely concerned by a pattern of escalating and overlapping threats to Monavale Wetland including:

(a) Development for Members of Parliament

A portion of the Monavale Wetland Ramsar Site is currently being developed as residential stands for Members of Parliament. In early May 2026 heavy machinery begun illegally grading the wetland to create stands, without having sought or obtained an EIA Certificate.

On 6 May 2026, Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs, Dr Tafadzwa Muguti, visited the site and publicly stated that the development was not authorised and that the area is a “no-go area”.

Disturbingly, the Member of Parliament driving the project, Hon. Energy Mutodi, has acted in brazen defiance of law and the directive from Government and has continued illegal activities on the site including pegging of stands inside the wetland using concrete. As recently as this week, he has been observed on the wetland accompanied by a drilling company, indicating ongoing attempts to proceed with development in defiance of official directives and the law.

The Environmental Management Agency has failed to take action despite the conduct of Hon. Mutodi being illegal.

This constitutes a serious breakdown in governance and respect for the rule of law.

(B) Unlawful Environmental Approval to Milblue Investments

On another part of the wetland, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has approved an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to a company called Milblue Investments for development within the wetland despite serious irregularities with the EIA application including:

* Serious factual inaccuracies, including claims of “no significant fauna” on a biodiversity-rich site;

* The absence of a proper hydrological assessment;

* Ignoring a recommendation by ZINWA that the project not proceed;

* Failure to assess flooding risks and downstream impacts;

* Failure to consider cumulative wetland loss in Harare; and

* The exclusion of affected communities from meaningful consultation.

This private development has already enclosed approximately 32 hectares of Ramsar-protected wetland without proper consultation, threatening the integrity of the ecosystem.

An appeal against the EIA has been brought before the Minister of Environment and is currently pending for determination.

(c) Legal Uncertainty Arising from the Mabelreign Land Judgment

Recently, the High Court handed down a default judgment ordering the transfer of 30 hectares of land within the Monavale Wetland Ramsar Site to a private company called Cablemail. This was due to an affidavit signed by the Minister being struck out due not being dated resulting in the application not being opposed.

This creates an urgent need for decisive executive action to challenge the default judgment and ensure that this public asset and wetland of international importance is not destroyed.

(d) Other incursions

There are multiple other developments and threats of developments which are happening throughout the Monavale Wetland Ramsar Site including pegging on a piece of land owned by the National Gallery without their consent and the fencing of an area by a company called Palwave.

3. CONFLICT WITH NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2 (NDS2)

The ongoing and proposed developments at Monavale Wetland are fundamentally inconsistent with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which emphasises:

* Environmental protection and climate resilience;

* Sustainable urban development;

* Preservation of natural ecosystems;

* Water security and integrated water resource management.

Allowing the degradation of a Ramsar-protected wetland directly undermines these national priorities and exposes Zimbabwe to environmental, economic, and reputational harm.

4. LEGAL AND POLICY CONTRADICTIONS

The continued encroachment on Monavale Wetland violates:

* Zimbabwe’s obligations under the Ramsar Convention;

* The National Wetlands Policy;

* Environmental Management Act provisions requiring proper environmental assessments and public participation;

* Principles of administrative justice and good governance.

The situation is particularly troubling given that relevant authorities have already acknowledged that the development should not proceed.

5. MORAL AND INTERGENERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

As a faith-based organisation, we emphasise that environmental stewardship is a moral obligation. The destruction of Monavale Wetland would:

* Set a precedent for future irregular and illegal activities of a similar nature;

* Undermine the President’s own recent efforts to regularize land management in Zimbabwe;

* Undermine the rights of future generations;

* Disproportionately affect vulnerable communities downstream;

* Represent a failure to uphold the common good in favour of short-term private interests;

* Send the wrong signal to the wider public about the Government and its concern for the most vulnerable in our society.

6. OUR APPEAL TO YOUR EXCELLENCY

In light of the above, we respectfully urge Your Excellency to:

1. Immediately halt all development activities on Monavale Wetland in which Government is involved, including and especially pegging and drilling operations by the site being developed for Members of Parlaiment.

2. Direct a full and independent investigation into the allocation and attempted development of land within the wetland.

3. Ensure enforcement of existing protections, including under the Ramsar Convention as well as national environmental laws by the Environmental Management Agency.

4. Urge the Minister of Environment to expeditiously determine the appeal pending before her regarding the issuance of an EIA certificate to Milblue Investments.

5. Hold accountable any individuals or entities acting in defiance of government directives and the law, including those continuing development despite explicit instructions to stop and without an EIA Certificate.

6. Support the long-term protection and restoration of Monavale Wetland, including its integration into a broader protected greenbelt along the Marimba River to Lake Chivero.

7. CONCLUSION

Your Excellency, Monavale Wetland is not vacant land—it is a living system essential to Harare’s survival. The continued threats to its existence represent not only an environmental crisis but a governance crisis.

Your intervention at this critical moment would affirm Zimbabwe’s commitment to the rule of law, environmental stewardship, and sustainable development.

We respectfully request urgent action.

Yours faithfully,

Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)