BULAWAYO– A top human rights activist says mining is a new form of colonization which is being advanced against African countries that are failing to place sustainable economic development at the centre of mining strategies.
Director of Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) Farai Maguwu, said communities from resource-rich areas have nothing to show for mineral endowments because of narrow personal interests advanced by powerful elites at the expense of national development.
Maguwu made the remarks at an Action Aid Zimbabwe side session on corporate accountability, during the ongoing Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI) an annual meeting organized by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) and partners.
“We are the only country that l know of in the world where even our dead are exhumed by foreigners because they want the mineral beneath them, our children are going to discreet on our graves. We are a shame.
“Mining is a form of new colonialism, our people are losing livelihood’s land, Chinese are coming taking land, traditional leaders are attacked by the Chinese, and workers are being shot for demanding their salaries,” he said.
He was responding to community concerns that some Chinese investors who are mining around the country show a general disregard of communities, traditional leaders and violate the rights of workers.
He said mining has become a cause for concern locally after replacing agriculture as a key economic driver.
“When we look at Zimbabwe today mining is actually undermining the development of the county, yet we propagate the fallacy of investment but our banks having no money, the miners don’t even bank in this country,” he said.
Maguwu said displacement and dislocation of our communities due to mining in communities without compensation is a new norm, echoed by community voices in documentary compiled by Action Aid and ZELA.
The documentary reinforces findings of a research, Resist, Engage, Change, chronicling eight countries including Zimbabwe where local communities were given capacity and knowledge on their socio-economic rights, to demand a better present and even better future.
“When tax revenue in developing countries is siphoned off by multinationals’ aggressive tax planning and the lenient tax structures of tax havens, leaving less government income available for public services, it is women who take on invisible unpaid care and domestic work.
The report also highlights that in the last decade there has been ‘increased attention for the adverse impact of global trade and corporate conduct on the full realization of human rights, gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals.’
“For many people around the world, global trade and the influx of foreign interest and investment in their countries has meant displacement from their lands, pollution of water and air and human rights abuses.
“The imbalance of power between communities living in poverty and the multinational corporations taking their land and polluting their water is often stark. Governments oftentimes stand powerless against the might and riches of these corporations,” reads part of the report.
In Mutoko, black granite mining has had negative socio-environmental impacts for decades, degradation including the release of toxic materials produced by the extraction process is the only evidence left behind, as the miners leave without rehabilitating.
Evelyn Kutyauripo, a community monitor of environmental compliance from Mutoko, said the Chinese miners have total disregard of communal values and have displaced persons without proper compensation.
“We have families that have been moved from their land for little compensation while the mining companies continue to operate without any tangible benefits for us. They totally disregard our community leaders, as women we are suffering more,” said Kutyauripo.
Acting Mutoko Rural District Council chief executive officer Thomas Mashango noted that the current laws are weak and allow miners to pay pittances in royalties, siphon profits and leave without environmental reclamation of their sites.
“We are appealing to parliamentarians to escalate the issue to the cabinet. The government is aware of the mining operations, we have engaged at various levels, we even took them to the courts. We need to amend the Rural District Councils Act to ensure that people benefit from the mining of granite.
“We also recommend that if we can have the polishing company in Mutoko, if these things are done locally then it will be better. We will generate employment and increase revenue to provide services,” he said.
