Communities in Penhalonga continue to be subjected to deepening environmental injustices ranging from nasty pollution of the Mutare River and acute land degradation from illegal gold mining syndicates despite repeated complaints put forward to authorities by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG).
On 16 December last year, CNRG teamed up with the Zimbabwe Natural Resource Council to table a petition before Parliament over the pollution of Mutare River.
The two organisations had recognised that Zim-Gold Mining and artisanal miners had destroyed the course of the Mutare River thereby causing siltation.
It was their prayer that all mining activities along the Mutare riverbed are stopped.
However, investigations by THE WEEKLY this Wednesday uncovered a slew of continuing environmental injustices along the riverbed as well as dust, and noise pollution, much to the chagrin of surrounding communities.
In Penhalonga, there is also the continuation of serious land degradation.
Mining operations are one of the main causes of pollution in Penhalonga. The town is well-known for gold mining, which has resulted in the discharge of dangerous chemicals and other pollutants into the environment around it. These contaminants have affected air, soil, and water sources, resulting in a host of health and environmental problems.
“Our water bodies have been polluted, the amount of makorokoza (illegal miners) within Penhalonga is alarming and the mining practice they are using is not environmentally friendly. The Mutare River has been hugely polluted and silted, the water has turned into a milkfish colour making it unsafe for domestic use. The mercury they use during panning ends up in the rivers, making it unsafe for animals to drink that water,” said Serina Mariwangepo a 55-year-old Tsvingwe resident.
Water availability is a challenge in Tsvingwe and Old West Communities, resulting in people travelling long distances to obtain water. The only available water source is the breather pipe, which is around 3-5 kilometres away from the communities. The Old West settlement has been without running tap water for three months, forcing residents to rely on dirty water which is being pumped from mine shafts.
“Water is still an issue in Old West; we haven’t seen tap water in three months. We now rely on dirty water pumped from mine shafts. All surrounding water sources, including the Mutare River, have been affected by alluvial mining, which is carried out by Betterbrands as well as artisanal gold miners. Water has never been a problem for Redwing before Betterbrands. We now have to walk three to five kilometres to get water from the adjacent breather,” said Loice Mangwere an Old West, Redwing Resident.
“Dialogue with Betterbrands has been futile because the corporation does not even address community issues. Menstrual hygiene has been a challenge for women as a result of these water shortages. Sometimes ladies end up surrendering their bodies to makorokoza with cars so that their water buckets can be transported for them.”, added Mangwere.
Old West is a mining complex settlement in Penhalonga that was constructed for Redwing Mineworkers. The population of mine workers has been steadily increasing in recent years, with miners travelling from all over the country in search of employment.
Land degradation and dust pollution are also issues in Penhalonga’s Old West and Tsvingwe communities. Mining has resulted in the degradation of natural habitats, soil erosion, and deforestation taking up the majority of agricultural land, resulting in decreased agricultural output, biodiversity loss, and increasing community vulnerability.
“Mining has taken most of the forests that once helped to prevent soil erosion, which has resulted in a rise in land degradation over time. We also are concerned that artisanal miners may have already moved into our homesteads because there is a good chance that there are underground pits beneath our houses. The dust that is created by shunting trucks that transport ore to millers settles on homes and vegetables, causing intolerable pollution.,” said Senzo Machona a Tsvingwe community who spoke to THE WEEKLY.
Locals claim that both the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the Mining Companies have been unable to provide concrete answers to the environmental problems that the Penhalonga community has been facing. Both have failed to respond to community complaints about the pollution created by nearby mining and the destruction of the land caused by gold panning.