Civil society organisations are upping the ante for government to embrace transparency in the mining sector to bridge economic inequalities through tangible community benefits from natural resource revenue.
At the end of the 9th edition of the Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI) civil society organisations, community members released a declaration urging the government to be accountable in operations of the mining sector.
ZELA, organizers of the annual meeting said instead of realizing social and economic justice from mining activities in their areas, the communities are left with ecological debt, entrenched poverty and inequalities in various forms.
“The government must ensure that the mining-induced inequality gap is closed and that mineral revenue is equitably distributed. Thus, there is need for the formulation, adoption and implementation of a fiscal decentralization policy so that public finance management is devolved to local authorities who can in turn control and tax mining corporations in their localities.
“The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development should adopt provisions that provide for open contract disclosures, performance monitoring of mining contracts and online register of contracts in the proposed Mines and Minerals Bill,” read part of the ZAMI 2020 declaration.
Zimbabwe’s resource wealth has been associated with “poverty, conflict and corruption”, as resources have not always translated into higher levels of household income and poverty reduction, said ZELA.
They also called for the speedy finalization of the Mines and Mineral Bill as well as the inclusion of formalization of artisanal mining.
As communities wallow in abject poverty and social and economic deprivation, the government has resisted calls to embrace transparency and accountability in the mining sector, despite its major role in the economy.
“To enhance transparency and accountability, there is need to generate political will on Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) adoption including ensuring that the Civil Society Organizations and Parliament do an assessment on the costs (financial) of EITI Implementation in Zimbabwe.”
The government was also urged to adopt and implement mining cadastre system to help in the generation of reliable information including mining titles, beneficial ownership and mining contract registries.
ZELA said the legal framework should also ensure parliamentary oversight to ensure transparency and accountability in the negotiation of mining contracts, monitor revenue flows for communities to benefit.
The organizers also noted that access to information is a key driver in effective mineral resource governance, which must all be enforced for communities to effectively participate in the mining value chain.
“Mining communities have failed to realize the much-needed revenue from the mining operations in their localities and therefore there is a need to review the Rural District Councils Act to ensure that locals fully benefit from mining operations;
“Information related to mining operations should be made publicly available and accessible to communities in a way that is comprehensible to allow communities to make clear and informed decisions and commitment
“Public participation is a necessary condition for sustainable development including the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is the responsibility of the government to ensure active citizen participation in public resources management allowing for benefit sharing and inclusive local economic development,” ZELA added.
