‘Zimbabwe’s ‘coal rush’ brings despondency as local communities bear the brunt of environmental degradation’ 7 May 2021

The recent ‘coal rush’ by mining companies into Hwange, Zimbabwe has brought despair instead of high expectations from the local community, which accuses these entities of violating environmental regulations with impunity. In most developing countries, foreign direct investment usually brings optimism among the general populace as it would be a positive sign of economic development and employment opportunities. The scenario is rather different in the coal mining town of Hwange, situated in western Zimbabwe, where most of these new investors are already on the receiving end for environmental pollution and deforestation.

…Over the past three years, close to ten companies, the majority of which are Chinese-owned, have been granted mining licenses by the Zimbabwean government to explore and extract coal. Other entities were also given the nod to venture into thermal power generation. The government was recently forced to revoke mining licenses that had been granted to Chinese firms to extract coal in the national park following an uproar from locals and animal rights activists. The coal rush has also brought them into a series of clashes with climate change campaigners who accuse these mining firms of polluting the environment with impunity. A point that was recently refuted by the Zimbabwean cabinet minister in charge of the environment.

…The executive director of the Centre for Natural Resources and Governance (CNRG), Farai Maguwu, castigated the Zimbabwean government for lack of transparency when it comes to issuing special coal mining grants…“Most of these new mining companies hardly follow environmental impact assessment programmes and the practice of making them pay fines is not deterrent enough,” he finally remarked. “Repeat offenders must be made to thoroughly clean the affected areas [in] its entirety as part of efforts of sending a strong message to any would-be mining investor.”