Chief Mafala and Chief Mapanzure are some of the traditional leaders from Zvishavane who attended the Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba organised by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association recently to discuss the role of chiefs in the mining industry.
“Mimosa and Murowa Mines are doing their level best to develop the lives of people in Zvishavane. They have built a number of schools, clinics and hospitals and installed many boreholes in our area,” Chief Mapanzure said.
The Chiefs hailed the establishment of Community Share Ownership Trusts under which companies cede 10 percent of proceeds from mining activities to locals.
“The Zvishavane Community Share Ownership Trust is the country’s third such trust and was launched in February. We are glad that we are the first to launch a visible project using proceeds from the community trust,” said Chief Mafala.
The trust made history in Zimbabwe by building a new school with two classroom blocks so far. “We managed to build the school without the help of local or foreign donors and Zvishavane residents are beginning to enjoy fruits from the local mineral resources,” Mafala added.
The chiefs remarked on the absence of Chief Chiadzwa saying they expected to share their experiences with the man in whose domain lie billions of dollars worth of diamonds. Mapanzure blasted the lack of transparency in the Chiadzwa diamond fields by barring journalists and civil society organisations from assessing and observing mining activities there.
But Newman Chiadzwa of the Chiadzwa Community Development Trust, said Chief Chiadzwa, had been sidelined by Manicaland Governor Chris Mushowe, who suspected him of being sympathetic to the MDC.
“Two years ago, Robert Chiadzwa was traditionally inaugurated as the Chief but Mushowe installed Patrick Chiadzwa. He would not allow Robert to take over the chieftainship until Patrick, the acting chief, died in a car accident,” Newman Chiadzwa said, insisting that senior government officials were hindering the participation of locals in the mining of diamonds in Chiadzwa.
The Chiadzwa chieftainship rotates among the Chikoti, Mashuhwa and Muedzengwa families. However there are fears that the chiefs might end up landless since most of their territory has been taken by companies mining diamonds in the area. Scores of Chiadzwa families are being resettled in Arda Transau and there are worries their cultural and moral values will be eroded.
Melanie Chiponda, coordinator of the Chiadzwa Community Development Trust, said her organisation was finding it difficult to interact with the Chiadzwa traditional leadership because of the politicisation of the chieftainship.
“On many occasions the late acting chief refused to give us audience when we wanted to engage him on the Chiadzwa relocations. He did not want to associate with us as he feared local government minister Ignatius Chombo and Mushowe,who had appointed, him might associate him with non-governmental organisations accused of working for regime change,” Chiponda said.
Post published in: News