Roseline Mutare
Gwanda-Mandihongola villagers in Matabeleland South Province are up in arms against Chinese-owned Gwanda Lithium Mine for abdicating its corporate social responsibility while causing serious damage to the environment.

The villagers allege that the mine, which was reopened in 2021 after yielding huge spodumene lithium deposits, has brought nothing but misery to the local community.
“We had a trafficable road before the mine reopened, but now it’s a death trap, the trucks are moving up and down every second reducing the road to a jungle, while taking our huge lithium deposits and leaving us with nothing,” said a villager, Nkosana Dube.
Dube’s sentiments were also echoed by another fellow villager Sithokozile Ncube.
“We are not only concerned about the poor state of the road but also worried that the mine might be extracting other minerals, such as gold, without our knowledge. Why cannot they process the lithium here in Zimbabwe so that we can also benefit as well from the by-products and jobs creation,” he said.
“The mine’s activities have destroyed our roads, polluted our air and water, and disrupted our peaceful lives. It is time they took responsibility for their actions,” said Sanelisiwe Moyo.
“We acknowledge and appreciate these concerns, and we’re committed to responsible and sustainable mining operations.
“We understand the community’s worries about our environmental, infrastructural, and corporate social responsibility role.
“We have already made significant contributions to infrastructural development, particularly road rehabilitation, through the relevant road authorities for both our operations and the general public. Road rehabilitation remains the responsibility of relevant government road authorities, with private companies like us only playing authorised and regulated complementary roles.
“To mitigate environmental impacts, we have implemented best practices to reduce dust and other negative effects, guided by government mining and environmental regulatory authorities.
“We are committed to ongoing monitoring and improvement, aiming to eradicate negative impacts where possible, through proper government structures.
“We are proud of our contributions to community development through various corporate social responsibility activities undertaken through relevant governance structures.
“We will continue working through government and other regulatory authorities to address community concerns, read a statement from Gwanda Lithium public relations manager Nixon Kutsaranga, which did not specify the actual CSR programs undertaken.
Centre for Research and Development director James Mupfumi said the government should strengthen legislation on mining to protect the environment and the community from unscrupulous miners and law enforcement agents who take advantage of the weak laws.
“The mining vision enunciated by government in 2018 has not been strengthened by the proposed legislation that was going to ensure host communities are partners in exploitation of minerals as required by section 73 of the Constitution. Therefore, miners have no obligation under the existing colonial laws to undertake social corporate responsibility in host mining communities,” added firebrand activist.
Lungile Masuku, the coordinator of the Gwanda Community Economic Justice Development Trust (GCEJDT) said mining has caused numerous problems and strained relations with the community.
“Environmental degradation, air, dust, noise and water pollution are some of the biggest challenges. The trucks which transport lithium ore from Sandawana, another mine owned by the company in Mberengwa, to Mandihongola have badly damaged the roads,”
“We have water shortages for people because the boreholes have dried up. Of late, livestock have been drinking raw waste water that the mine releases into the dam in Mandihongola,” claimed Masuku.
Farai Maguwu, executive director for Centre for Natural Resource Governance said the community is absolutely right in demanding benefits from their natural resources because there is natural capital depreciation, they are also affected by the mining activities like water pollution, land pollution and they are losing their land to a foreign entity that does not abide by their cultural values and the lithium process requires lot of water, hence the community will face shortage of water in the medium to long term.
The Gwanda Lithium Mine is owned by Dinson Mining Investments, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned Tsingshan Group. The mine has been accused of causing environmental degradation, air, dust, and noise pollution, as well as water pollution, which has affected the local livestock and fish.
As the mine continues to extract over 1,000 tons of lithium daily, destined for China, the villagers remain concerned about their livelihoods and their future.
With no benefits accruing to the local community, the mine’s operations have become a source of tension and conflict in Gwanda.