Ownership Trust, according to The Zimbabwe Natural Resource Dialogue Forum.
The trust was set up as part of the government’s nationwide project to empower local communities. In an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean last week, the Manicaland Coordinator of ZNRDF, Freeman Bosvo, expressed serious concern over the initiative.
“It is nearly five months after President Robert Mugabe handed the Trust a $50 million cheque from the mining companies. As ZNRDF we are concerned that it is not clear whether the money has been handed over to the Trust or not,” he said.
Bosvo complained there was no transparency in the selection of trustees.
“The opaqueness and secrecy in which the Community Share Ownership Trust is operating raises more fears of corruption and nepotism,” said Bosvo. “We note the glaring exclusion of elected Members of Parliament, Councillors, Community Organisations and Civil Society in playing an oversight role.”
He said ZNRDF was also interested in hearing the position of those who were relocated to ARDA Transau and what they stand to benefit from the money presented to the Trust.
“We are convinced that if the Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust is a genuine developmental initiative it must address these issues as failure to do so will substantiate claims of ulterior motives by the Trust. It will also give leverage for speculation that these schemes are a smoke screen for political motives,” he said.
Political analyst John Makumbe has said the community trust concept does not guarantee the empowerment of communities, adding that only a few individuals would corruptly benefit.
“The money is likely to be used and abused by the various ministries involved in development and the communities are unlikely to benefit much from this,” Makumbe said.
The Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Savior Kasukuwere has said the trust funds should be run by local boards comprising chiefs, councilors, a lawyer and an accountant, who is the custodian of the scheme.
“The community benefits through construction of infrastructure like roads, clinics, schools and water facilities,” he said.
What do you think?
Do community share trusts benefit the communities in which they operate, or are they abused by the ministries responsible for them?
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