Chiadzwa CSOT bickering counterproductive

MANY investors are now recognising the benefits of working closely with local communities when investing in any major project, be it mining, industries and agriculture.

It is every investor’s desire to ensure that the communities obtain benefit from the development as well as create economic opportunities in the vicinity of a project.

Working closely with communities allows investors to take advantage of local knowledge, take into account specific issues in the area and ensure that the investment has real benefit for the community.

With the desire to see locals benefitting from their God-given resources, Government championed the establishment of Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) across the country, especially where mining is taking place.

The establishment of CSOTs in Zimbabwe is a noble idea that sought to provide an opportunity for communities to participate in the shareholding of various business entities, particularly in companies involved in the commercial exploitation of natural resources in the country. This is so because local communities have a natural right to benefit from their God-given resources.

The establishment of CSOTs is not peculiar to Zimbabwe as this principle of community ownership can be traced back to China in 1949, with the introduction of Shequs which were formulated to address the imbalances that were created by mainly foreign industries through suppressing local communities who were owners of precious natural resources.

The Shequs in China were meant to develop local communities socially and economically. Shequs also worked in promoting ownership and conservation of the environment, especially in areas that experienced mining of the natural resources.

In Manicaland, a number of CSOTs have been established to promote the economic and social life of the local people, especially the marginalised.

One such CSOT is the Chiadzwa Community

Share Ownership Trust (CCSOT) which was formed to ensure value-addition and beneficiation of local diamonds, while spearheading tangible development in Marange and surrounding areas.

Its formation and registration is provided for by Statutory Instrument 21 of 2021 and almost three years down the line there is nothing tangible to show for the existence of the Trust.

Bickering and haggling over the control of the Trust has become the order of the day, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of many people.

Over the years, mining companies have been extracting diamonds from Chiadzwa, but impactful development has eluded the Marange area. The same old infrastructure dominates the landscape of the diamond-rich area.

When most people expected the locals to move with speed and capitalise on the diamond mining concession granted to the Marange community by Government in January 2019, we hear news of endless fights over the directorship of the Trust and the intended beneficiaries.

We cannot allow this tomfoolery to continue when locals are crying out for their economic fortunes to change.

Government played its part by granting the locals a mining concession, and the Marange leadership needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

As community assets give places a new lease of life, creating a community-driven pathway for local regeneration and delivering measurable economic and social benefit to local areas, we expect to see this happening in Chiadzwa, Manicaland and Zimbabwe at large.

To those bickering over the control and ownership of Chiadzwa Community Share Ownership Trust, they must bear in mind that people’s lives are shaped by the places they live in, and community spaces are vital to local economies, community cohesion, civic pride and cultural identity.

In growing recognition of this, the goals of local communities, private investors and policymakers are converging more than ever around the need for strong civic institutions, assets and relationships.

With the right support in place, local com- munities are increasingly turning to community asset ownership, finding pride in the places they live in, and repurposing what exists to better meet the needs and aspirations of those living locally. We expect to see the dawn of a new era in Marange, with the diamonds benefitting the locals first through a vibrant Chiadzwa Community Share Ownership Trust.

We need to see local communities stewarding assets in the Trust, increase their pride in Marange, retain as much money in the local economy as possible, and generate a range of positive social outcomes.