ON JUNE 1, the SUN caught up with the man that many residents have seen cutting a lone figure while clearing the Amanzimtoti River lagoon of its invasive water hyacinth plants.

Julio Zakarias has spent many Saturdays voluntarily clearing the lagoon so that the wildlife can flourish again. On some weekends, he is joined by his children who help him. The alien plants are covering most of the lagoon and parts of the river, choking life out of it and creating a biodiversity imbalance.

Also read: Bugs to help address water hyacinth problem

According to the Agricultural Research Council, the water hyacinth is originally a native of the Amazon basin in South America. It was first recorded in KwaZulu-Natal in 1910 and has continued to flourish because it has no natural pest in South Africa.

“I saw the need to do this, and I started coming down every Saturday if the weather is not too bad. It’s a job that needs to be done,” said Zakarias.

Another group of residents had announced that it was going to be clearing the weeds in the lagoon on June 1, but he had started before they arrived. The shy and modest Zakarias just smiled and went back to work when asked if he was not afraid of getting sick from wading in the water that smelled like a sewer.

A car guard who works in the area, Sithembiso Mkhize, said he helped Zakarias a few times but said he has to be at the parking area where he can look after cars and make some money. He also helps by keeping the parking area and the grass next to the lagoon clean of litter.

“As you can see today, people park here and sit in their cars and eat. Some of that waste is discarded improperly, and I have made it my job to pick up after them and keep this area clean. If that waste is left like that, it’s blown by the wind and ends up in the lagoon,” said Mkhize.

eThekwini Municipality has, from time to time, provided workers to remove water hyacinth, but that responsibility falls on the Department of Environmental Affairs, not eThekwini. Ndabezinhle Sibiya, the Department of Environmental Affairs spokesperson, acknowledged the receipt of questions relating to the matter but had not responded by the time of publication.

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