MHONDORO-NGEZI villagers have called for a human rights impact assessment on the intended mining legislation, claiming several investors violate their rights with impunity on numerous occasions.
by OBEY MANAYITI
Already there is an environmental impact assessment requirement before commencing mining activities, a measure that seeks to address land use and rehabilitation during and after mining.
The Parliamentary Portfolio committee on Mines and Energy is currently soliciting views ahead of the amendment of the old Mines and Minerals Act.
“There is rampant human rights violations within mining communities. We end up having endless fights with these investors and the only way to deal with this is to create a human rights assessment plan that must be included in the Act so that we reduce conflict,” said one villager, Munyaradzi Matsvayi.
He also suggested continuous engagement through information disclosure on mining contracts and what the immediate society and the country at large stand to benefit.
Others called for the harmonisation of the Mines Act and Local Government Act so as to reduce confusion on how the community stands to benefit from its resources.
The bill proposes to have a Mining Affairs Board and villagers submitted that the board must be fairly represented with even people from community based organisations and the civil society included.
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A miner Todd Chisare said the bill must address challenges of mining claim invasion, seek ways of reducing costs of doing business and guard against creating monopoly for the government.
According to the bill, only the government is allowed to practice riverbed mining, a position he felt will create monopoly.
He also submitted that its practically impossible for the government to prescribe the mining equipment, methods of mining and skills as intended saying the central government or the responsible ministry has no such capacity.
Others welcomed the criminalisation of child labour at the mines while others noted the importance of clearly spelling out how investors will plough back to the community.
Some said the Act should clearly state how villagers who lose out their land to mining activities will be compensated.
The committee was led by Uzumba legislator Simbaneuta Mudarikwa who promised to take all the views in his report while recommending others to send their views even at a later stage.
