Environmental governance project unveiled

ACTION Aid Zimbabwe (AAZ) in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Mining Safety Health and Environmental Council (ZIMSHEC) yesterday launched a project to promote sustainable utilisation of Zimbabwe's natural resources.

The Zimbabwe Accountability and Citizen Engagement (ZIMACE) project was launched in the capital under the theme: Fostering Effective Environmental Governance and Management in Zimbabwe’s Mining Sector.

In a speech read on his behalf by AAZ local rights and sponsorship manager Peter Matimati, country director, Joy Mabenge, said the ZIMACE project aimed to catalyse key changes in policy, practice and systems within Zimbabwe's mining sector.

“These changes are essential to promoting sustainable and responsible utilisation of natural resources, empowering local communities and ensuring environmental rights as per Section 73 of the Zimbabwean Constitution,” said Mabenge.

Mining is one of the sectors identified as key in achieving Zimbabwe's vision of an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.

Mabenge said effective mining policies were key in achieving Vision 2030.

He said the ZIMACE project would also seek to address challenges identified under Zimbabwe's National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).

“The NDS1 correctly points out that weak governance has been the major limiting factor to the growth of our mining sector,” he said.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2023 launched the Responsible Mining Audit Initiative which aims to promote responsible mining practices and environmental protection in pursuit of a green mining sector.

“AAZ and ZIMSHEC strongly believe that establishing collaborative alliances and working towards strengthened partnerships among government, stakeholders, communities, corporates and artisanal and small-scale miners can influence positive policy reforms and, in the process, strengthening the capacity of all these stakeholders aimed at promoting sustainable environmental practices in Zimbabwe's mining sector,” said Mabenge.