By Rachel Jambo
Shurugwi, nicknamed “little England” is most famous for its rich deposits of minerals, including gold, chrome, platinum and now even lithium. The town has been envisioned as the paradise of wealth and has attracted large-scale formal mining operations as well as artisanal small-scale mining. It is a common cause that in the wake of mining activity, is a chain of negative social and environmental impacts and Shurugwi should be considered a brewing pot of negative impacts.
On the 25th and 26th of July CNRG held a two-day workshop in Gweru with the Shurugwi community where participants were drawn from Dunraven, Dzikamidzi, Village 18, Tembekwe and Reinfontein. Following an engagement with several Shurugwi community members, CNRG noted that the negative social and environmental impacts of mining are so rampant that if left unresolved, could potentially leave Shurugwi a ghost town in the decades to come.
As a result of all the mining activity, which has come from both the formal companies and the artisanal small-scale miners, the town’s original biodiversity has been disrupted, and there has been air and water pollution, land degradation, and deforestation. The Dunraven region is severely affected, according to community people who were interviewed, and the air quality has gotten worse as a result of soot, fumes, and dust from heavy machinery and blasting. Currently, Shurugwi is host to mines including Unki and ZIMASCO along with sporadic panning activities.
Due to slime spillages, the villages surrounding the Boterekwa River can no longer safely use the river water for domestic or agricultural purposes, and community members have also stated that they are losing a major tourist attraction at Boterekwa Falls as a result of blasting, slime dams, and general deterioration of air quality.
Cyanide and mercury are also making their way into a variety of water basins, including the Dunraven Falls, which feeds into a number of rivers. In 2019, EMA stated that chrome mining activities destroyed 3 464 hectares in the Shurugwi district, while gold mining activities damaged 6 128 hectares.
A large portion of this area has not been repaired. CNRG’s open-ended interviews and data-gathering sessions with community people aided in putting a face to these figures. Many members of the community rely on this devastated area for agricultural and grazing pasture. When land is left unrehabilitated, it creates food insecurity and exposes women and girls to exploitation.
The interviewees also alluded to Shurugwi’s social fabric becoming increasingly stretched as a result of the mining operations, and there appears to be evidence of the beginning of social disarticulation. The larger community feels disgruntled since they are not benefiting significantly from any of the mining operations and are instead suffering a cost they cannot bear.
The general state of infrastructure, such as roads, buildings, schools, and clinics, is deplorable since there has been little to no direct development or benefit to the community. More importantly, when projects begin, the community is excluded from any meaningful engagement and decision-making procedures. Displacement without regard for the land or the community’s consenting rights is occurring at an alarming rate. Approximately 20-30 Families from Village 18 were recently evicted from their homes and relocated to Reinfontein farm to make space for a sludge dam.
Dzikamidzi village is likewise in a similar situation, as displacement is anticipated due to the expansion of the UNKI mine into the area. These few examples highlight the status quo, which is that people’s livelihoods, traditions, and well-being are not valued and do not carry much weight in comparison to mining projects. The interviewees claimed that the Chinese operating in Shurugwi are racist and treat the natives with hostility and indignity. Nepotism, unequal employment opportunities, corruption, and unequal distribution of resources, power, and opportunity plague Shurugwi.
The accumulation of the aforementioned negative impacts on society and the environment speaks to the undeniable fact that Shurugwi is falling apart. It’s high time the government, policymakers, and relevant offices tighten lax regulations and close systemic gaps that have created an environment of exploitation of the most vulnerable and environmental degradation. It is time to address Shurugwi’s ailments!