NGOs Urge Zimbabwe Government to Take Tougher Stance with Miners
February 12, 15
(IDEX Online News) – Civil society groups have urged the Zimbabwean government to toughen their stance towards mining groups operating in the Marange region. The NGOs say that the miners have not done enough to develop the areas surrounding the mines.
During a recent meeting between NGOs operating in the Manicaland province and the new Provincial Affairs minister, Mandi Chimene, the NGOs said that the government had been too lenient with the diamond mining firms for too long, reported newzimbabwean.com
The director of the Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG) Farai Maguwu, said the issue of Marange was still a cause for concern and said that the mining companies are exploiting the natural resources of the region without giving anything back to the communities in the area.
"Manicaland is the richest province in the country but this is not reflecting on the ground in terms of development. If you look at Mutare it has one functioning [traffic light]," said Maguwu, as reported by newzimbabwean.com.
"Since the discovery of the diamonds 10 years ago, the country has lost billions of dollars to these mines but they are not doing anything in terms of corporate social responsibility."
However, the news site reported that Chimene had urged the NGOs not to get involved in politics and instead to remain focused on development and humanitarian issues.