It's International Women's Day:What must Zimbabwean women #BeBoldForChange about?

International Women’s Day

Today is international women’s day. Yesterday I walked in the suburbs of Mbare, Budiriro and Sunningdale and sought to speak with women to find out what International Women’s Day meant for them. I could not find any woman who was willing to speak with me. They all said they feared how I would use the information that I would get from them. They feared to speak about what they felt about International Women’s Day neither did they want to speak about whether or not they were aware of this day as women. I wondered whether their refusal to speak to me was because I was a stranger but then it just dawned on me that if women wouldn’t open up and speak with me, a fellow sister on such simple things, how free are they really to speak out about fundamental issues related to broader outlook of women’s rights as a group let alone confront duty bearers. The theme #BeBoldForChange couldn’t have come at a better time, especially in our Zimbabwean context.

The common thing about all these women who I approached was that they were fetching water from boreholes. In a resource rich country like Zimbabwe, where there are 40 known economically exploitable minerals, women mustn’t be struggling to get access to realise their constitutional rights related to social services like safe, clean and portable water. More often than not, tax is an issue that is not easily linked to the economic disempowerment and impoverishment especially of grassroots women. Although there are many sources by which government can collect taxes and convert them into public goods and services, the  Zimbabwe Agenda For Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation, the economic blueprint of government recognises the mining sector as a key revenue sector. The Africa Mining Vision recognises that mineral resources can lead to sustainable broad based economic delivery and provision of social services. In neighbouring Botswana, we have a testimony of how diamond mining revenue has led to development and provision of high quality services for citizens.

It is important to also examine tax and mineral revenue transparency issues as women’s rights and gender justice issues. Last year we heard how Zimbabwe “lost” $15 billion in mining revenue. Zimbabwean mining companies were named in the Panama papers on illicit financial flows and tax evasion through structures in tax havens and analysis were made that this could be how $15 billion was “lost”. Every year, the Auditor General has raised issues on embezzlement and abuse of public funds by ministers yet these many perpetrators walk Scot free. At some point the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority had to repay some royalties taxes it had collected from ZIMPLATS due to a stabilisation clause in ZIMPLATS mining contract see here.   Despite all the above, the mining sector still remains shrouded in secrecy and devoid of Parliamentary oversight when decisions of who to extract, when, where and how much of what minerals will be extracted are made. Yet these mining contracts determine the levels of mineral tax revenue and ultimately the amount of resources that are available for social service delivery. analyse the impact of harmful tax incentives like stabilisation clauses and tax holidays on women especially in the mining and energy sectors where huge capital funds are injected.  Earlier on this year VAT was introduced on basic good which women tend to purchase which could effectively mean that women would end up paying more indirect taxes and carry a heavier tax burden.

What then must Zimbabwean women #BeBoldForChange about? As Zimbabwean women we must #BeBoldForChange and fight for mining contract transparency including energy contract transparency. We must demand inclusive participation of women in key decision making structures along the mining value chain, not just an ‘insertion’ of women into these structures but a consideration of women's needs and interests. We  must  #BeBoldForChange  demand an end to tax havens and fight for stronger parliamentary oversight in Public Finance Management. We must expect no less in political party manifestos as we approach elections and when we vote we must consider all these issues above.

Given my experience yesterday, much still needs to be done to build the necessary boldness in women for them to #BeBoldForChange.  Last year I celebrated with women in the diamond mining region who were bold enough to build their agency to demand their rights, voice and power against pollution of Save and Odzi Rivers by diamond miners. Together we did the #PledgeForParity in the diamond fields through campaigning for gender equality and parity along the diamond value chain. This year we hold a symposium on Gender and Extractives aimed at interrogating women's movement and building power and voice to dismantle structural aspects along mining sector that inhit women's participation. In this we aim to continue building the confidence of all women and to enhance public finance literacy for women among other things. 

To all Zimbabwean Women Happy International Women's Day Sisters! Kwatakabva Kure Kwatiri Kuenda Mutunhu (We have come from afar) The struggle continues. Aluta Continua!

Emerging questions from last week’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines’ tour of Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company

This Blog is about my reflections on my fieldwork in Zimbabwe’s host mining communities and my interactions with other stakeholders in this sector. I will share my observations and insights on the challenges women face in their struggle to be heard and empowered along the mining value chain.

For two days, that is, on the 13^th and the 14^th of January 2017, members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines toured ZCDC and the Arda Transau Relocation Area. I had the privilege to be part of this tour.  Last year the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development formed the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) to efficiently control, explore and mine alluvial and kimberlite diamonds in country. The parliamentary tour captures the interest that everyone in Zimbabwe has around ZCDC not just because ZCDC is a state owned enterprise conducting diamond mining but because of the general expectation that States should “lead by example” in upholding community rights and tenets of transparency and accountability in the mining sector. For me, this visit left more questions and provided little answers to the controversy surrounding diamond mining in Zimbabwe. These are the questions that all citizens must ask and indeed all women must ask. Women particularly not because diamonds are a woman’s best friend but because women bear the brunt of the negative environmental, social and cultural implications of diamond mining and they lose the most when revenue from diamond mining is lost through leakages.

A huge question regarding the status of ZCDC emerged in this visit. At the beginning of the tour, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development gave a background on the formation of ZCDC and indicated that the ZCDC is not a ‘successor’ of the former mining companies (Mbada Diamonds, Marange Resources, Jinan, Diamond Mining Corporation (DMC), Anjin Investments, Gye Nyame, Marange Resources, Kusena Diamonds) but represents consolidation of the diamond fields. In essence, he said what was consolidated were the diamond fields not the diamond mining companies. If this is so, does this mean one special mining grant applies across the diamond fields and if so why is the ZCDC still dividing the diamond fields by portals in accordance with former mining companies’ fields? If indeed ZCDC is not a successor of the former mining companies does it mean that ZCDC has not taken over the assets of the former diamond mining companies because if ZCDC has taken over the former diamond miners assets it is deemed to be an amalgamation/consolidation of the companies? The question of past and present assets of ZCDC therefore becomes paramount, especially for women since it can show who is liable to compensate them for loss of livestock, loss of livelihoods through loss of biodiversity, environmental rehabilitation and liabilities to relocated community members who were promised irrigation schemes and compensation in 2011. Moreover, discussions with some members of the PPC indicate the predicament that the PPC has in playing oversight role as in some instances ZCDC indicates is a private limited company which cannot be subjected to parliamentary oversight as opposed to a government parastatal.

During the tour, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of ZCDC informed the members of the PPC that ZCDC was in the process of acquiring Environmental Impact Assessment (EIAs).  The law does not permit the transfer of EIA Certificates from former diamond mining companies to ZCDC without the authority of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA). What this means is that ZCDC was supposed to acquire its own individual EIAs before commencing operations. Failure to provide an EIA caused ZCDC to be issued with four orders and four tickets. When ZCDC was formed there was a general expectation that as a state-owned company it would take measures to respect and protect the rights of communities or people. It is known that the EIAs of the former diamond miners were not properly done as they did not capture essential environmental, social and cultural impacts. In any case many of the former mining companies were not complying with their stated EIA commitments. How then did ZCDC start operations without EIA certificates? What does it mean for the people’s right to a clean and safe environment if state-owned companies defy and contravene environmental laws? How effective is the EMA system of fining and giving orders to offenders?

The PPC tour revealed that only approximately 10% of the ZCDC mine workers were women. ZCDC acknowledged that this is an area which needed improvement but did not explain what it is that ZCDC is doing or would do to rectify this and identify barriers that are inhibiting women from being employed in the diamond sector. Does the ZCDC have a gender policy? Does ZCDC have specific skills transfer programs aimed at creating gender parity in its workforce? What technology is ZCDC using and are there any efforts by ZCDC to develop and adapt innovative technologies that are responsive to women’s needs?

During the tour we heard that ZCDC is acquiring vegetables and chickens (road runners) from the community as part of local content. We saw that ZCDC is hiring heavy earth moving machinery. ZCDC did not disclose whether it had bought its own machinery. ZCDC did not disclose who it is hiring the machinery from and how much it cost to hire the machinery. The secrecy shrouding former diamond miners’ operations was one of the reasons that government formed the ZCDC as a way to improve transparency in diamond mining. Undoubtedly many people, including myself expected that the ZCDC as a way of leading by example would voluntarily disclose which machinery it has bought; if there are any plans to buy any; the cost benefit analysis of hiring machinery as opposed to buying it; who it is hiring the machinery from and at what cost. Undoubtedly the local community, especially women need their capacity to be built so that women entrepreneurs can competitively supply the services and goods within the diamond value chain. Buying vegetables and road runners is a far cry from the local content aspirations contained in the Africa Mining Vision and our local Women’s Broad Based Economic Empowerment Framework.

 Yesterday’s Herald carried a story about Mbada Diamonds pricing scandal in which government owned 50%. Such pricing scandals and inconsistency of diamond production figures and contribution of diamond mining to national fiscus justified formation of the ZCDC. During the tour ZCDC provided a summary of production figures and carats sold. ZCDC must spearhead stakeholder interest for the resuscitation and implementation of the Zimbabwe Mining Revenue Transparency Initiative (ZMRTI) and encourage government to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The PPC ended with a tour of Arda Transau Relocation Area. Local communities do not have strong communal title and the Mines and Minerals Act of 1961 prioritizes mining over other land uses, further weakening communities’ land rights. In December 2016 ZCDC relocated 23 families from Tinoengana Village in Chiadzwa. 3 families disputed the relocation in courts and refused to be relocated without adequate compensation see here.  During the tour ZCDC revealed it had paid undisclosed disturbance allowances to 18 of these 23 families. Interaction with some members of these families indicated that no disturbance allowance had been received as yet. The following questions arise from this; What are relocated families entitled to in terms of compensation/disturbance allowances? When must the compensation be paid? What is the standard of basic amenities that are required to be established at the relocation sites? Is it not forced consent to relocation if ZCDC is mining in community in people’s fields and at their homesteads? Can ZCDC mine in people’s homesteads and fields before it relocates them? If it does, is it not supposed to give food handouts pending relocation? Is ZCDC liable for promises for construction of an irrigation scheme for Arda Transau community made by former diamond miners?  

As the Chinese proverb says: One who asks a question can be a fool for five minutes one who doesn’t ask is a fool forever. 

Women call for ecological restoration of Save River; condemn riverbed and say “It takes more than joint ventures to conjure up of environmentally friendly riverbed mining”

This Blog is about my reflections on my fieldwork in Zimbabwe’s host mining communities and my interactions with other stakeholders in this sector. I will share my observations and insights on the challenges women face in their struggle to be heard and empowered along the mining value chain.

Yesterday’s Sunday Mail carried a notification for submissions of views for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for alluvial mining and processing of gold mining along Mazowe River to be carried out by Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Mining Company (ZCDC). Save River is among the rivers targeted for alluvial riverbed mining. As an environmental justice practitioner, I am very worried about these developments because it is only a matter of time before a similar noticed is published for the Save River. Two weeks ago I participated in a campaign organised by women living along Save, Odzi, Singwizi and Chenyu Rivers.  The campaign emanated from the fact that Save River had ‘run dry’ as a result of pollution of the river by diamond miners coupled with the diversion of all the clean water upstream by current diamond mining companies, including ZCDC. In wanton disregard of community rights, Constitutional rights, Environmental Management Agency regulations and the Water Act, ZCDC and other diamond mining companies pumps are diverting all the water from Save River into dams for diamond processing.

Figure 1 Clean water being pumped out of Save River by diamond mining company

Figure 2Dam of clean water upstream for use by diamond mining company

I was shocked by what I saw because I remember when I was growing up my mother had tales of the mighty Save River where they would go swimming and get fish. Save River was the lifeline of people spanning across Chimanimani, Chipinge, Buhera districts. Moreover, just last year in September I was at the same site along the Save River and we had to pull up our skirts to cross the river since water levels were almost waist high. Now women go with shovels to get little water to wash clothes and to get water for cattle and other livestock to drink.

Figure 3This is what Save River looked like at Mangwadza, Buhera site two weeks ago

Figure 4 washing hole dug up by a woman

Women bear the brunt of this mining induced water crisis along the Save and its tributaries. Women have the water gathering roles in households and lose many productive hours gathering and fetching water for cooking, bathing, washing and cleaning. The campaign I participated in was led by women who were calling for ecological restoration of Save River in a campaign called “Gem miners Clean up Save River”.  These women have organised themselves into women’s forums, platforms where they reflect on what they can do to address the gendered impacts of mining, how they can tap into emerging opportunities if any from mining and how they can participate effectively in decision making processes. Notwithstanding the urgent need for ecological restoration of the Save River, the new legal provisions on riverbed mining ironically aimed at protecting the environment stop riverbed mining except where it is done as a joint venture with government.  It is as if the joint ventures are going to be the panacea of environmentally friendly riverbed mining yet the same mining company that is diverting water like ZCDC, as shown above is expected to capture community interests, especially women’s interests when conducting riverbed mining.

Whilst women are still reeling from impacts of diamond mining along the Save River, riverbed mining is likely to add to their woes. The women living along the Save River and its tributaries must be capacitated to respond to any notice of intention for riverbed mining along the Save River and make known their concerns, not just around likely devastating environmental impacts but also that there must be consequences and accountability  for miners who violate environmental rights, including state owned mining companies. In fact state owned mining companies like ZCDC must have higher threshold of legal liability  for non- compliance with environmental standards since the state has the ultimate duty to protect human rights.   The new riverbed mining legal provisions are already viewed by women as a conjecture from a typical kugocha kunoda kwaamai kwemwana kunodzima moto perception where communities feel the government is basically stopping private investors from riverbed mining so the government does it in the same environmentally devastating manner with no consequences at all. It takes more than joint ventures to conjure up of environmentally friendly riverbed mining. There is a reason why riverbed mining is being banned in the first place, these same reasons justify why riverbed mining is being condemned by women along the Save River.

Insights from the ZAMI Session on Gender and Extractives

Since 2014 I have had the privilege to attend the Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI), a platform for the often excluded and marginalized host mining communities and civil society to engage government and mining companies on pertinent issues in the mining sector. Every year mining companies and government meet at a Mining Indaba to discuss pertinent issues in the mining sector. I also had the privilege to attend the Mining Indaba 2016. This gathering is usually far from the reach of host mining communities and civil society as the costs for registration and travel are too high for many. There is an annual African Mining Indaba held in Cape Town for investors and African governments to speak about mining and minerals development. I also had the privilege to attend the 2016 African Mining Indaba.

For the past five years Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), Zimbabwe Council of Churches and Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development have created and hosted an alternative space the ZAMI and this year the ZAMI was held under the theme “Mining Sector Reforms: A call for Economic Justice and the Environment.” After attending the 2014 ZAMI session, it was apparent that there was the lack of a robust and coordinated integration of gender analysis and women's rights within mining sector in the ZAMI discourse. In 2015 the ZAMI had its inaugural first Session on Gender and Extractive Industries to highlight the ways in which women are excluded in this increasingly important sector, in their participation in the sector itself, and in their ability to benefit from the labour they contribute.

The session identified key issues facing women in the mining sector, and probed participants to provide innovative suggestions to law and policy makers to promote gender equality in line with the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

 The 2015 ZAMI Session on Gender and Extractive Industries declared that;

      Mining companies’ community development plans must incorporate ways of addressing differential impacts of mining on men and women.  For instance mining companies have the corporate responsibility to respect sexual, reproductive and health rights of women (SRHR) in the communities they operate in and must therefore put in place measures to address the negative impacts of their mining activities on SRHR of women.

      The state must protect the rights of both women and men in mining communities including strengthen delivery of gender responsive services e.g. health centres to cater for women’s SRHR, education, access to justice including access to adequate housing and social services should be provided for women and families in relocation areas.

In 2016 there was a more nuanced discussion on the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill. The 2016 Session on Gender and Extractive Industries declared that the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill must incorporate provisions on;

      Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) compelling mining companies and the government to enter into negotiations with host mining communities before taking away their communal land and women must have a seat at the table when the decision to extract is being made.  

      Local content development stating clear preference for employment of local people, skills and technology transfer programs including local enterprise development commitments.

      Gender Impact Assessments to be conducted prior to commencement of mining operations with an assessment of the financial ability of the mining company to meet obligations to reduce/remedy negative gendered impacts of mining e.g. financial capacity to rehabilitate the environment.

My observations are that the ZAMI Session on Gender and Extractive Industries by its existence is a loud statement that the needs and status of women and girls can no longer be accorded low priority in the mining sector. In fact the Session re-affirms the need to foster attitudes and get unwavering support for power-holders in this sector to answer to women for failure to ensure respect of women’s rights. The Session is a galvanization of women’s agency for a more proactive approach to women’s economic empowerment through sustainable and responsible mining, far removed from extractivism plunder currently perpetuated by the existing mining law regime. I certainly hope that the Session on Gender and Extractive Industries becomes a permanent feature of all ZAMIs. In fact it is my hope that the both the national Mining Indaba and regional African Mining Indaba also captures the urgent need to advance women’s rights, voice and power in the mining sector. Indeed it must be understood that the Session on Gender and Extractive Industries does not preclude the need for more women presenters, speakers, panellists, moderators, discussants and facilitators, not just in but across the Mining Indabas’ agendas. 

Women's voices on Zimbabwe's Draft Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill

This Blog is about my reflections on my fieldwork in Zimbabwe’s host mining communities and my interactions with other stakeholders in this sector. I will share my observations and insights on the challenges women face in their struggle to be heard and empowered along the mining value chain.

Last week I participated in parliamentary public hearings on the draft Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill. These hearings were being led by the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy. I attended the meetings held in Hwange, Kwekwe,  Shurugwi, Mhondoro-Ngezi and Mutoko. The main objective of the public hearings was for Parliamentarians to get the public’s views on the Bill based on the gaps the public identified including their suggestions on improvements to the Bill. Women leveraged on this open space and raised their voice to demand a more gender progressive mining law. Here is what the women said:

Hwange- Mining dehumanizes women by ruining the environment; increasing their burden of unpaid care; taking away their livelihoods and reducing their economic status; excluding them from decision-making; increasing all forms of violence against women. The Bill cannot remain gender neutral but instead must unequivocally state how it will empower women to benefit from the sector.

Shurugwi- Riverbed mining must be the reserved exclusively for women. Women have no access to capital because women have limited access to land which is usually required as collateral for capital loans. Riverbed mining requires limited capital requirements. Why must the government with all its capital muscle reserve exclusive rights for riverbed mining. Let the government do hard-core capital intensive mining projects and leave women to do riverbed mining.

Mhondoro-Ngezi - Local content provisions must be clear and reserve employment quota for women at all levels of the mining operations including senior positions.

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) must be available for everyone to access in a format they understand  and the community must be empowered to conduct independent EIA monitoring and to ensure compliance with EIA mandates by mining companies.

Kwekwe- The Cadastre system must have gender dis-aggregated data. Government must set a quota for women to do small scale mining especially in the gold sector.

The bill is silent on artisanal mining. Women’s contribution is not  being recognized yet they are the invisible hand contributing to gold production through artisanal mining. Recognize and regulate artisanal mining and support this crucial women’s role in the mining sector

Mutoko- Mining revenue must set clear percentage of royalties to be remitted to the Local authorities (suggested 5%) who must use the mining revenue for gender responsive service delivery

Granite mining companies must partner with the community. The community can organize itself into cooperatives who will provide labor and the mineral whilst the miner can provide the capital in 50 50 partnership. Women will have equal representation in the cooperatives and will thus benefit.

Mining companies must publish what they pay to central and local  government the law must make this mandatory so that we know how the money is spent. This will work towards improving social services and women no longer die during child birth because of poor service delivery.

 In a nutshell, women said it all. The women of Zimbabwe raised their  voices and made known the mining law they want. This is a crucial step in advancing their rights and economic empowerment in this sector. The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association has produced Gendered Asks of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill to sensitize policy makers on how they can strengthen the Bill. At this moment one can only hope that the law makers will heed women's voices as women continue to fight for their rights and power in this key economic sector.