MARTIN MAWAYA
Zimbabwe’s management of its natural resources has come under scrutiny, with experts highlighting the need for reforms to promote transparency and accountability in the extraction of the country’s mineral wealth.
The politicization, securitization, and militarization of the mineral sector have rendered the industry “ungovernable and highly susceptible to organized crime and plunder.”
One such an eyesore of poor natural resource management is the Shurugwi Boterekwa escarpment, which has been ravaged by the Chinese-owned firm Chenjxi Pvt Ltd.
The company has transformed the once-pristine trails and tranquil mountainous landscape into a perilous death trap.
The 6-kilometer scenic stretch has been replaced by a maze of haphazard mining and unstable slopes.
The environmental impact of the mining operations has been severe not only in Shurugwi district, but across the country, where regulations are often ignored in the relentless pursuit of precious minerals.
Once-lush vegetation has been stripped away, leaving the slopes vulnerable to erosion and landslides nationwide.
This irresponsible mining coupled with effects of climate change, has endangered ecosystems, polluted streams, and displaced wildlife.
Despite having natural resource governance laws, such as the Mines and Minerals Act, Forestry Act, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe Act, Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, Rural District Council Act, Urban Councils Act, Zimbabwe Water Act, and Environmental Management Act, enforcement remains weak.
To address these challenges, environmentalists and conservationists have called for the government to enhance transparency and accountability in the management of its natural resources.
They argue that the country’s wealth should benefit its citizens and promote sustainable development.
Peter Makwanya, an environmentalist and climate change expert, says the nation’s natural resources are the “local people’s heritage” and should be governed with their active participation.
He advocates for policies and legislation that align with the traditional ecological governance paradigms of local communities, ensuring their voices are heard and their rights protected.
Makwanya warns that the lack of governance over natural resources leaves the country vulnerable and exposed.
He noted that massive degradation, deforestation, and loss of livelihoods will lead to numerous displacements and conflicts among communities over eroded and scarce resources.
“This situation will not only create a humanitarian crisis but also an ecological one,” said Makwanya.
He implored Zimbabwe to protect itself against greedy corporations and countries that seek to exploit its resources through unorthodox methods.
Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), Farai Maguwu, has also called for a national mining vision that aligns laws and policies to serve the country’s interests.
He argues that current mining practices are “predatory in nature” and that the entire system, including law enforcement and regulatory bodies, needs reform to prioritize national interests.
Maguwu stresses the importance of devolving power to provinces, allowing them to make decisions about their natural resources, enter into agreements with investors, and create their own provincial master plans.
He also emphasizes the need for civil society and parliament to effectively play their respective roles in monitoring and oversight.
A 2023 study by the Information Development Trust (IDT), titled “Purses and Curses,” exposed five Chinese companies, namely Chenjxi Mining (Pvt) Ltd, AfroChine Smelting (Pvt) Ltd, Dore Green Customs Milling, STC Mine Cyanide Chemical (Pvt) Ltd, and Ming Chang Sino Africa (Pvt) Ltd for their trail of environmental degradation in Zimbabwe.
