Dodoma. Tanzanian legislators have on Tuesday, April 5, refused to accept Mara River report which was drafted by Environment Minister Seleman Jafo.
On March 12, The Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office (Union and Environment), Mr Selemani Jafo, formed a team to probe the cause of Mara River waters turning blackish as fish reportedly died in the river.
The 11-man team of experts was unveiled by the minister in Musoma District, Mara Region, after he had paid a one-day fact finding visit to the river.
The minister tasked the team, apart from investigating the cause, to give long and short term proposals on what steps should be taken to encounter the situation.
He also directed the team to examine other water sources including water wells and swamps located around the river so that to see whether they had also been affected.
In an earlier briefing before today’s handover, the chairman of the committee, Prof Samwel Manyele, told reporters that floods was the cause for Mara River waters turning blackish.
“This is because of the mud it collects which was however not the cause of fish deaths. Rather, they died after being deprived of oxygen,” he said as he clarified concerns and queries from the public.
Prof Manyele, who comes from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University Dar es Salaam (UDSM), said livestock grazing in wetlands accumulated urine and feaces, stressing that the issue did not contribute to fish deaths.
He said his team also found symptoms of oil, which was later found to be relatively harmless and that further investigation discovered that it was a result of decomposition of living organisms in the wetlands of the Mara River, clarifying that there were no signs on the presence of petroleum.
“The team efficiently fulfilled its responsibilities and involved everyone who was required to participate in the process including experts from different authorities,” he said.
He insisted that his team was not looking for something else other than what happened on February 7, this year that changed appearance of water and led to deaths of fish.
“Other effects are not what we were investigating. What I can say is that the fish and water have not been contaminated, posing no threat to humans,” he said.
The team announced probe report on March 19, 2022 showing that the river pollution was caused by higher levels of animal feaces and decomposition of plants in the river, results that were met with a huge uproar from various quarters.
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