By Tanaka Ndongera
On 24–25 March 2026, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) brought its Just and Fair Share Campaign to Mutare, marking the initiative’s second major launch following its successful debut in Hwange in February. Funded by the Open Society Foundation (OSF), the two-day event gathered 23 participants from across Manicaland’s mining-affected districts, including Mutare Urban, Mutare Rural, Makoni, Mutasa, Chimanimani, and Marange.
Manicaland sits atop some of Zimbabwe’s most significant mineral wealth gold, diamonds, lithium, copper, emeralds, and more yet communities across the province have long been excluded from meaningful benefit-sharing. The Marange diamond experience looms large: despite billions in revenues generated since 2006, affected communities continue to face forced displacement, environmental degradation, and opaque royalty distribution.
The Just and Fair Share Campaign was designed precisely to change this reality by equipping communities with the knowledge, skills, and tools to assert their rights.
Day One grounded participants in the critical minerals landscape of Manicaland, Zimbabwe’s legal frameworks including the Mines and Minerals Act, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) rights, and international standards such as the EITI and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
A powerful panel discussion, “Voices from the Ground,” saw community leaders and former miners share lived experiences of mining agreements what worked, what failed, and what they wish they had known.
Day Two shifted to practical skills-building. A negotiation simulation exercise placed participants in immersive role-plays as community negotiators, mining company representatives, and government officials using real Manicaland case scenarios. Groups then drafted model Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) clauses covering revenue sharing, local employment quotas, environmental remediation, and grievance mechanisms.
Youth participants co-designed a 30-day digital campaign calendar, officially activating the campaign’s Manicaland social media presence and connecting to the growing national network established in Hwange.
As key outcomes from the workshop captured plainly: CBAs should be legally binding, and communities must have a genuine voice in negotiations with mining companies. That message and the people now empowered to carry it is exactly what the Just and Fair Share Campaign set out to deliver.