‘Mnangagwa's Push for Billion-Dollar Coal Industry Endangers Hwange Communities’ 16 September 2020

At least 50 people have been killed so far this year due to human and wildlife conflict in the Hwange area, quite a jump from the 42 who died the whole of last year and almost double the 26 that died in 2016. The upsurge in deaths could be attributed to President Emmerson Mnangagwa's drive to grow Zimbabwe's mining sector into a US$12 billion industry by 2023, which is coming at a huge cost to communities bordering Hwange National Park, who are now at the mercy of wild animals being pushed out of the giant reserve by coal miners. The rush for Zimbabwean coal by Chinese firms, particularly around the country's largest game reserve, has alarmed conservationists. A fortnight ago Bhejane Trust, a conservation group, stumbled on two Chinese firms Zhongxin Coking Company Ming Group and Afrochine Smelting, who were paving the way for large-scale coal extraction in the Sinamattela area inside the park.

…The mining activities have come at a great cost for communities surrounding the national park - the home of the Big Five - as wild animals are being pushed out of the reserves by the coal miners, fuelling a deadly human-wildlife conflict. Squeezed out of the park, wild animals are now straying into Hwange town and surrounding villages, leading to an unprecedented number of people being killed or crops being destroyed. Investigations by the Centre for National Resource Governance (CNRG) revealed that before the arrival of the two Chinese firms, there were already operations by a number of companies that were threatening the biodiversity of the national park. CNRG said the companies were mining too close to conservation areas, a situation that was forcing the animals to stray into human settlements. The companies identified by the lobby group are Makomo Resources, Zambezi Coal Gasification Company and Hwange Colliery Company's concession in the western area.

…Environment minister Mangaliso Ndlovu has come under fire for allowing Zhongxin and Afrochine to start mining operations inside the park despite objections by the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks). The deals between the government and the Chinese were reportedly signed in Mnangagwa's presence. Fulton Mangwanya, the Zimparks director-general, on July 27 wrote to Ndlovu warning him about the adverse implications of setting up mining operations in the game reserve. "It will be the first time for coal mining to be permitted in a national park, a precedent that will be very difficult to sustain," Mangwanya said.