Energy transition: vast opportunities for Africa despite challenges

…’improving accountability in natural resource governance key to sustainable green future’ Moses Ziyambi The lagging behind of Africa in terms of transitioning to cleaner sources of energy can be rectified by improving the governance of its vast transition minerals which can help power the continent’s future, it has been stated. This was said by researchers, experts and civil society leaders who gathered in Sandton, Johannesburg, last week for the high-level regional dialogue on the just energy transition, natural resource governance and climate change organised by Southern Africa Trust (SAT). Among many other issues in different countries of the region, participants […]

Close to 30% of Zimbabweans have no toilets

Zimbabwe’s government is struggling to reduce open defecation, a practice that poses serious health and environmental risks, despite its efforts to improve sanitation facilities. Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services Jenfan Muswere said Tuesday that open defecation has fallen slightly from 30% in 2020 to 28.6% in 2023, but it remains a challenge. He said access to improved sanitation has also dropped from 65% to 61.1% over the same period. “Cabinet notes that government is putting in place measures to address the low basic hygiene (that is handwashing with soap and safe water) in both rural and urban areas,” […]

Zimbabwe’s conflict lithium and the marginalization of locals

Clayton Shereni The plunder of diamonds in Chiadzwa by government officials and security officials who work in collaboration with Chinese firms, the gold rush at Hwendedzo and the lithium rushes in Bikita, Goromonzi and Mberengwa may all amount to the resource curse that has come to characterize mining operations in Zimbabwe. With 80 percent of export receipts reportedly coming from the mining sector, according to authorities, the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is banking on the mining sector to change fortunes of citizens and revive its bedridden economy which has been on life support system since turn of the millennium. […]

Manhize villagers lament displacement as steel company seizes new land

Moses ZiyambiFamilies in the resettlement areas surrounding the iron mines in Manhize where Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco) is building a steel manufacturing plant are resisting the slow but systematic evictions being effected by the company.Disco, which is a subsidiary of Chinese steel giant Tsingshan Holdings Group, is extracting iron ore in Manhize Range in Mashonaland East province. The company is also building a steel processing plant and a power plant in Mushenjere and Kwaedza villages of Nyikavanhu area of Chirumhanzu Rural District Council, Ward 15, in the Midlands province.Tapfumanei Nzombe, a resident of Mushenjere village, said Disco public […]

Bikita Minerals in desperate attempt to circumvent closure on employee’s death

Moses ZiyambiBikita Minerals is making frantic efforts to hide circumstances surrounding the recent death of an employee, fearing that the issue may provoke another strong government response five months after the company was ordered to suspend operations over many abuses including lackluster safety standards.Nelson Musendekwa, who was a plant operator at the mine’s gravel packing unit, died on October 24 under dubious circumstances, and his body was retrieved 12 hours later after a crane was hired from Masvingo to remove a vibrating bin discharger which still trapped his body.Sources said the bin which killed Musendekwa, of Mafuka Village under Chief […]

Communities explore new farming practices to conserve land, grazing

Samson Cader A local community based organisation, Centre for Gender and Community Development in Zimbabwe (CGCDZ) and its partner communities in Masvingo province are introducing innovative agricultural practices that promote land and livestock management.The stakeholders believe that the movable kraal concept and the holistic land and livestock management can address some long-standing conservation challenges in rural areas.The initiatives are being rolled out in Mbetu and Chipo Gardens in Masvingo district Ward 11, as well as in Chinyika village in Gutu district Ward 10.Under the movable kraal concept, community members pool their cattle into a single herd which is then accommodated […]

How one organisation uses solar to improve rural livelihoods

Samson Cader Access to clean and reliable water is a fundamental human right, yet many communities in Zimbabwe grapple with lack of access to it.This situation has seen Centre for Gender and Community Development in Zimbabwe (CGCDZ), a community-based organisation taking the initiative to install solar-powered boreholes and piped water system in various communities across Masvingo province.The intervention by CGCDZ is benefitting approximately 60 households per community, providing them with a consistent and accessible water source.Additionally, the project addresses the water needs of livestock in the district, ensuring their wellbeing and contributing to the overall agricultural development of the area.The […]

Resilient women sweat it out in difficult mining sector

Moses Ziyambi ‘After my business collapsed – I accepted defeat, I knew I h’d done everything in my power to make it work. I knew that the collapse of my business had nothing to do with me but rather – whatever had taken place had everything to do with the environment I was operating in’ wrote Namatai Chipunza on X (formerly Twitter) on August 08, 2023.A small scale artisanal miner who found the going getting tougher by the day despite her best of efforts over several months, Chipunza finally decided to call it quits. Chipunza’s story, though very common in […]

Young climate champion pushes hard from the periphery

Kholwani Nyathi He prides himself in pushing for the meaningful participation of children and young people in shaping their futureDesire NyaguraUNICEFZimbabwe/2023/Kudzai Tinago22 June 2023Epworth, Zimbabwe- Desire Nyagura is emerging as a leading voice in Zimbabwe’s fight against climate change and is aggressively pushing for a clean and safe environment in urban areas. Nyagura (18) from Epworth, a township on the eastern periphery of the capital Harare, has been in the thick of things from an early age by providing leadership as a climate advocate. He is a member of the Adolescent Youth Advisory Committee for UNICEF Zimbabwe and a former […]

The just transition ought not to leave anybody behind

Moses Ziyambi There is need to take deliberate efforts to accommodate the perspectives of marginalised voices if the noble concept of the just transition is to avoid leaving anybody behind, it has been pointed out. These sentiments came out during a recent virtual meeting on climate justice which brought together journalists, experts and activists. The meeting, which focused on how energy systems could lead to climate justice, was organized by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, May Thazin Aung, a climate change researcher at the London International Institute for Environment and Development, said one aspect of climate justice was the polluter pays […]

Africa Climate Summit: A chance for unity in the face of a common threat

Tatenda Chitagu NAIROBI, KENYA – Kenyan President William Ruto, the host of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, has urged African leaders to put their differences aside and approach the world superpowers with one bargaining voice to capitalize on the global climate action investments and green opportunities. Speaking at the opening of the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) Ministerial conference at Kenyatta international Conference Center, Ruto rallied African leaders to unite in the face of climate change, whose disasters continue to ravage Africa. “This is no ordinary summit. We are not here just to talk about Africa or climate change in the […]

Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections: the environment, climate change as electoral issues

Moses Ziyambi While the environment and climate change have already become huge electoral matters in some developed countries of the West, political parties in Zimbabwe seem to be slowly but surely embracing similar themes in their campaign messages. While the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has released a manifesto, the ruling Zanu PF, in a drastic departure from precedent, has chosen not to; claiming that its record of delivery should act as its manifesto. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is seeking re-election, is basking in his latest achievement of ending crippling power cuts after his government built two new […]