Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth continues to occupy a central place in the country’s economic and development conversations. Yet, as communities across the country experience the realities of extraction, an important question remains: what is left behind after the minerals leave the ground?
This edition of CNRG Weekly explores that question through the interconnected issues of mining revenues, environmental protection, community accountability and participation.
A major highlight is the launch of the Follow the Money: A Practical Guide to Understanding Mining Revenues and Public Finance at the Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba 2026. Co-created with communities from six mining districts—Mutasa, Mutare, Bikita, Masvingo, Hwange Urban and Hwange Rural—the toolkit seeks to make public finance and mining revenues more accessible to communities, civil society organisations, journalists and citizens.
The underlying message is straightforward: communities cannot effectively demand accountability if they cannot understand and follow the financial flows generated by the minerals extracted from their territories. Mining revenues are collected through taxes, royalties, fees and other payments, but transparency must extend beyond collection to questions of allocation, expenditure and development outcomes.
This issue also brings environmental responsibility into sharp focus through the situation at Bondolfi in Masvingo West, where abandoned gold pits have left communities, children and livestock exposed to serious risks. The concerns raised by the Centre Environmental Accountability remind us that mining does not end when gold or other minerals are removed from the ground. Rehabilitation, environmental protection and community safety must remain integral to the mining cycle.
For CNRG, this is particularly important because communities should not be left carrying the environmental and social costs of mineral extraction while the economic benefits accrue elsewhere. Whether mining is undertaken at large or small scale, it must be accompanied by environmental safeguards, respect for community rights and mechanisms that enable local people to benefit meaningfully from their natural resources.
The edition also turns attention to youth participation in climate decision-making. The article Invited but Ignored: The Politics of Youth Tokenism in Climate Decision-Making examines the gap between being present in climate spaces and having meaningful influence over decisions. It challenges institutions to move beyond symbolic participation towards structures where young people have genuine opportunities to shape decisions and access resources.
These discussions converge around a common principle: participation must have substance. Communities need information not simply to be consulted, but to interrogate decisions, monitor public resources and demand accountability. Young people need more than invitations into decision-making spaces; they need meaningful avenues to influence outcomes.
Ultimately, Zimbabwe’s mineral governance conversation must move beyond measuring success by production volumes, export receipts or revenues collected. We must also ask what those revenues produce in communities, who benefits from mineral wealth, who bears the environmental and social costs, and what is preserved for future generations.
As this edition reflects, mineral wealth is not simply what leaves the ground. It is what remains after extraction.
#PeopleOverProfit.