Tinotenda Hove – Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe has ordered nearly two dozen Members of Parliament to vacate Monavale Wetland after they moved graders onto the 507-hectare Ramsar site with plans to build houses, sparking a standoff with environmental activists.

Monavale Vlei was designated a Ramsar Site in 2013, giving Zimbabwe a legal obligation to protect it. A Ramsar site is “a wetland that has been designated by a country as being of international importance, meaning it has a legal obligation to protect it.” Despite that, the MPs pushed ahead until campaigners blocked graders on Saturday.

Energy Mutodi led the group of MPs but admitted defeat on Tuesday after Garwe intervened. “I had a meeting with the Speaker of Parliament and also with the minister of local government, and we were advised to stop any developments on that site,” Mutodi said.

“The current status is that there is not going to be any development for Member of Parliament stands at that site. Everything has been stopped. I’m sure there is going to be an alternative land that is going to be allocated to these MPs.”[residential]

Mutodi claimed the MPs had accepted the directive: “We have been given the facts, we are now well aware that this land is a no-go area. The equipment has been removed from the site – there is not going to be any development of any nature because of the issues that have been raised by the environmental agencies and so on.”

The attempted land grab drew outrage. For Harare Water, Monavale is “not merely a scenic area but a natural pre-treatment system” that filters heavy metals and pathogens before water reaches Cleveland Dam. Losing it would mean “higher turbidity levels, increased costs for alum and chlorine treatment, and faster clogging of filtration systems.”

The 507-hectare wetland also supports grassland birds, amphibians and mammals. BirdLife Zimbabwe records species such as Striped Crakes, Streaky-breasted Flufftails, Broad-tailed Warblers and Dwarf Bitterns there between December and April.

Lawyer Doug Coltart, representing activists, hailed the outcome as “a major victory for the public” after the MPs were forced to remove their equipment. Critics say the incident exposes how some lawmakers prioritise personal stands over environmental laws and Harare’s water security.