By Ashywyne Vambe
Enviromental Management Agency stole the show at the just ended Harare Agriculture Show as they were show cased state of the art environmental management equipment.
The agency had all the equipment which gave farmers a feel of how to protect their grain from disasters such as veld fires.
“We have the fire tender, this machine comes with 650 litre tank that gives you 30minutes of firefighting. It can pump water up to 15 meters away.” said Samuel Jim EMA representative from the fire department.
An eye catching machine at the EMA stand was the Hazardous Material Response Vehicle which comes with specialised equipment for chemical spillages and other hazardous leakages.
“The vehicle fights hazardous spillages such as cyanide, sulphuric acid and petrol spillages. The vehicle comes with its on oxygen masks, a generator and other specialised equipment.” said Tawanda Tonderayi, representative of the Hazard Department.
He also said they work with the Civil Protection Unit. “As the mining industry grow, a lot of environmental impact is happening. These tend to be hazardous to the environment.”
The agency has gone and set up initiatives and awareness campaigns around the country.
The Environmental Management Agency is a statutory body responsible for ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment, the prevention of pollution and environmental degradation, the preparation of Environmental Plans for the management and protection of the environment. It was established under the Environmental Management Act [Chapter 20:27] and enacted in 2002.
