Despite Marange producing millions of dollars in diamonds, Marange villagers relocated to Arda Transau villagers, between 2009 and 2011 to pave the way for grand million-dollar diamond extraction projects in their ancestral lands are still living in rolling abject poverty daily. This is despite promises of better days by the government more than a decade ago, THE WEEKLY can reveal.
The villagers who were forced to relocate to pave the way for the extraction of diamonds in their homeland have so far endured terrible impoverishment for more than 14 years.
Investigations by THE WEEKLY this week revealed an apparent humanitarian crisis is unfolding at Arda Transau as the community is facing an acute water shortage putting it at risk of the current Cholera outbreaks witnessed in several parts of the country such as Buhera.
According to locals taps dried up sometime in early 2022. The community has now resorted to fetching water at an unprotected well on the outskirts of the Arda Transau settlement.
When The Weekly news crew visited the area, it observed that the water slowly springs from the ground, requiring at least 20-30 minutes for one to fill a 20-litre bucket.
In the evening, long queues form at the well where residents, mostly women and children, spend hours waiting for their turn to fetch the elusive water for domestic chores such as cooking, laundry and drinking.
“When we were relocated from Marange in 2012, a number of promises were made to us which included access to safe and clean water. To date, the area where the Diamond Mining Company (DMC) relocated people to has three boreholes which are supposed to cater for more than 100 households.
“For us to have water we have to wake up early before 5 am to beat the queues. The whole burden of fetching water lies with women,” said Clara Magobeya (49) from DMC Arda Transau who was relocated from Marange.
Water remains a problem in all of the Arda Transau settlements, including Marange Resources, Mbada, Jinani 6 and 7, Anjini, and DMC areas.
Most of the boreholes that were drilled in those areas have dried up, and some of them are said to be generating unsafe water for human consumption. Where there had been tap water provisions, the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) is not paying ZIMWA’s bills, therefore the taps have dried up and water only comes up twice or three times a month.
People’s relocations from Marange also had an impact on the villagers’ livelihood alternatives, with Arda Transau having little prospects for economic activities that can give them income to cater for food, and healthcare among other critical living expenses.
“Life at Arda has been difficult; at Marange, we used to pick Nyii and Mauyu for sale. We also used to weave baskets and various household objects that we sold for money.
“The relocations took away these opportunities. We used to receive food handouts from the corporation that transferred us during our first year in Arda Transau, but the handouts were discontinued after only one year. It’s been a challenging phase for the past decade,” said Precious Gamunorwa (39) from Anjini village, Arda Transau.
The situation at Arda Transau is exacerbated by the complete lack of livelihood options. There are no employment opportunities, and all they have are cluster housing facilities that are now disintegrating.
As the population at Arda Transau grows without corresponding social services and employment opportunities, the risk of is crime growing.
Background of Arda Transau debacle
After the discovery of diamonds in Chiadzwa, Manicaland province, many families were moved off their ancestral land of Marange communal lands and resettled at Arda Transau between 2009 and 2011.
The government declared the diamond fields protected areas under the Protected Places and Areas Act (PPAA) to pave way for the exploitation of the gems. While promises were made to improve the livelihoods of the resettled families, most of the promises are yet to be fulfilled.
For instance, each family was to occupy a three-bedroomed electrified house with clean, treated piped water from taps situated at each house. However, a lack of access to social amenities like water have seen living conditions resembling a concentration camp.
School-going children were to benefit from the provision of school fees, uniforms, footwear, and books. Schools were to get furniture from the companies and teachers’ houses were to be built near the school. Fast forward to 2023, Arda Transau resembles a concentration camp with shocking levels of poverty and an apparent humanitarian crisis unfolding.
CNRG warning bells
In May this year, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance released a report that chronicled the current situation in Arda Transau. The report was meant to awaken authorities on the crisis and invoke immediate response to alleviate the plight of the displaced Marange villagers.
Part of the report reads:
“One of the major challenges facing the Arda Transau community is access to water. The taps dried up sometime in early 2022. The community has now resorted to fetching water at an unprotected well on the outskirts of the settlement.
“The water slowly springs from the ground, requiring at least 20-30 minutes for one to fill a bucket. In the evening long queues form at the well where residents, mostly women and children, spend hours awaiting their turn to fetch water for domestic chores.
“People in the area have been getting water from unprotected sources, raising fears of waterborne diseases.”
“The tiny well is less than five metres from a swamp that has become the source of water for laundry for the community.”
CNRG officials on a research study of the situation in Arda Transau back then witnessed women washing clothes about five metres from the well where others were gathered to fetch water for domestic consumption.
“Livestock also drank from the swamp. The community is in danger of drinking contaminated water as laundry water can easily contaminate the drinking water.
“Similarly, animal diseases can easily be transmitted to humans due to the closeness of the swamp to the well,” read the CNRG report.
The organisation raised concern over the deteriorating housing within the resettlement facility, which it said was degenerating into a humanitarian crisis.
“Another major humanitarian challenge unfolding at Arda Transau is that of fast-depreciating shelter. The houses, especially those built by Anjin Investments, are cracking. Massive cracks on the floor and walls were witnessed by CNRG. In some of the houses, there is an imminent danger of the walls collapsing on people.
“However, such tragedies are completely avoidable if Anjin Investments and Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) embark on a house rehabilitation programme. This should not be for propaganda purposes but with real intent to avert tragedies.
“Many children brought to Arda Transau have grown and started their own families and yet there is no land for them. These young couples are forced to continue living with their parents. The land reform programme ought to cater for these families, given that they were made landless and homeless by the government. Zimbabwe has several multiple farm owners, of which the majority of the farms lie idle since acquisition,” read the report by CNRG.
Under the latest circumstances in Arda Transau, CNRG recommends the following:
- Urgently address the water crisis at Arda Transau and ensure the water is pumped to the community free of charge.
- Develop a long-term water solution by drawing water from Odzi River to the Arda Transau community for irrigation purposes.
- Avail more land for relocated families to ensure food security.
- Investigate and take action on concerns raised pertaining to the fast-depreciating state of the houses built for the relocated families at Arda Transau.