The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata, Senior Reporter
HUNDREDS of illegal panners have besieged the banks of the raw sewerage-polluted Sakubva River digging for alluvial gold deposits, in a development that has resulted in increased human activity in the adjacent Gimboki high-density suburb.
Gold buyers are slowly trickling in to set camp near the mining sites while vendors with various wares including food stuffs have since thronged the river banks.
When The Manica Post visited the area today, illegal panners were busy digging up for gold. Several shafts as deep as 15 metres have since been dug up along the river banks, posing serious environmental hazard.
Some of the illegal panners were panning right inside the channel of Sakubva River, apparently brushing aside lumps of raw sewerage flowing down the river.
Fears have gripped residents of the nearby Gimboki high-density suburb who are dreading the outbreak of diseases as the raw sewerage-drenched illegal panners are constantly getting in contact with the location.
Manicaland police spokesman, Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa, said the police were yet to visit the illegal panning site.
