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The Government launched community share ownership trusts (CSOTs) in 2012. The initiative was meant to ensure that locals benefit more meaningfully from natural resources available in their communities, particularly minerals.

Foreign-owned mines were bound to set aside 10 percent of their shares to the trusts. Communities were empowered economically and socially as a result. They used resources they received from the mines operating in their areas to buy drilling rigs and to build schools, roads and clinics. Communities became direct stakeholders who enjoyed tangible benefits from their resources.

On Tuesday, the Government announced an initiative which, to some degree, is similar to CSOTs concept. The thrust remains the same — to promote local participation and benefit from locally available resources. The major difference now is that the new scheme does not mandate anyone to set aside shareholding to communities.

“Following the boom in the mining sector, the Government has seen fit to broaden participation of communities in the sector,” said Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa in her post-Cabinet briefing.

“To that end, Cabinet wishes to advise the nation that it granted the request by the following traditional leaders to acquire mining titles in reserved areas for the benefit of their communities: Tefra Mining Syndicate (Chief Marange); Goromonzi Mining Trust (three chiefs Rusike, Chinamora, Chikwaka); Chinamhora Mining Syndicate (Chief Chinamhora); Chiwara Mining Syndicate (Chief Chiwara); Bere SP Mining Syndicate (Chief Bere) and Budiriro Mining Syndicate (Chief Chiweshe).”

Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa

The mining industry is one of the most rewarding in our economy. It is the biggest foreign currency earner and is a key contributor to the gross domestic product. It employs thousands as well.
It is therefore remarkable when the Government makes a deliberate effort to promote direct involvement of our traditional leaders into the lynchpin of the economy as it did on Tuesday.

We urge the eight traditional leaders to immediately set up professional administrative structures to run the mining enterprises that will emerge from the titles they have just received. Such structures should be knowledgeable about running successful mining investments. They, too, must be adept at the business of raising large sums of capital that are typically needed to develop and operate profitable mining ventures.

Our traditional leaders represent their people; they, in fact, are their people. In view of that, they will obviously know that the mining titles announced on Tuesday belong to their people, not the eight of them personally.

We take the latest community empowerment effort as an extension of the Zunde RaMambo/Isiphala SeNkosi concept. The mining titles were, yes, granted to the chiefs but benefits arising from them must, and we repeat, must, benefit their subjects in a fundamental way.

We look forward to seeing roads, clinics, schools, dams and universities being built using resources raised from mines to be developed and operated out of the titles that the Government granted to the traditional leaders. We expect hunger and poverty to be things of the past as the mining projects flourish. We expect orphans to have their school fees paid by the traditional leaders-led mining activities, the elderly to be taken care of by the mines and the sick to have their medical needs met by the mines.

It will be a good idea for the Government to put in place a mechanism to oversee the running of the mining projects so that they actually benefit or empower the chiefs and of course, their people. That mechanism will enforce standards as well so the mining ventures are run professionally and transparently.

We regard the grants to the eight chiefs as the inception phase of an exercise which will be expanded to embrace other traditional leaders under whose jurisdictions minerals exist. This will widen the benefits more nationally and make sure that more traditional leaders and citizens get involved in such an empowering drive, which is consistent with the Second Republic’s conviction to promote development that does not leave anyone, any place behind.