Welcome to Weekly 1.
This edition examines the shifting terrain of extractive governance in Zimbabwe and the region, asking whether mining can move beyond revenue extraction to deliver real value for communities, the economy, and future generations.
From Zimbabwe’s new fiscal reforms and the dangers of weak environmental enforcement, to lessons from global diamond governance, youth perspectives on dispossession, and frontline community voices from Penhalonga, the issue centres people at the heart of mining debates.
We also situate extractives within Southern Africa’s escalating climate crisis, underscoring the urgency of climate justice, accountability, and preparedness. Together, these stories challenge us to rethink who mining is really for, and at what cost.
Directors Remarks
Welcome to the first edition of the CNRG Weekly for 2026.
We begin the year encouraged and energised by the opportunity to continue serving the people of Zimbabwe—defending our environment, our climate, and the rights of communities whose lives and livelihoods are increasingly under threat from unchecked extractivism.
The year 2025 ended on a high note for the Centre for Natural Resource Governance. Together with our allies, we led a determined campaign to halt mining activities at Christmas Pass, the iconic mountain range on the outskirts of Mutare. Through sustained advocacy and high-level engagement, CNRG helped ensure that a company operated by local businessmen and Chinese nationals was forced to cease operations at the site. While this was an important victory, we remain clear-eyed: the struggle is far from over. Illegal mining continues—often under the cover of darkness—reminding us that vigilance and sustained pressure remain essential.
Across the country, CNRG continues to receive distress calls from communities raising alarm over mining activities that undermine livelihoods, threaten public health, and erode social cohesion. Displacements—and threats of displacement—are on the rise, while communal lands are being unilaterally seized by mining interests on a scale rarely witnessed in Zimbabwe’s history. In response, 2026 will see CNRG intensify the Right2SayNo campaign nationwide, affirming the right of communities to resist projects that compromise their well-being, dignity, and future.
As Zimbabwe and the wider SADC region experience persistent wet spells, flooding in several areas has already claimed lives and destroyed infrastructure worth tens of billions of dollars. These events are a stark reminder that climate change is not an act of God—it is a man-made crisis directly linked to fossil fuel extraction and consumption. We are deeply concerned that the Belém Communiqué failed to commit to a fossil fuel phase-out, reinforcing the reality that global leaders remain unwilling to abandon consumption patterns that deepen inequality and devastate those least responsible for the crisis. CNRG joins growing calls for the full operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, alongside demands for transparency, accountability, and the decentralisation of climate finance to local authorities and civil society.
The year 2026 began with a staff planning retreat in Masvingo, where the CNRG team reflected on lessons from 2025 and mapped the road ahead with renewed clarity and purpose. We were also delighted to welcome Ms Cathrine Chimanda, our new Senior Programmes Officer, who brings over 15 years of experience in leadership and programme management within Zimbabwe’s civic space.
Our team has hit the ground running—planning ambitious activities for the year while strengthening continental and global engagement. We recently participated in a Post-COP reflection meeting hosted by our partner, the Southern Africa Trust, in South Africa, and we are currently taking part in the Kimberley Process Civil Society Planning Meeting in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
We thank you for your continued solidarity and support as we journey through 2026—standing firm in defence of our common heritage, climate justice, and community rights.
In solidarity,
Farai Maguwu