A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for... more A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice
A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for... more A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice
A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for... more A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice
International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 2021
The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallh... more The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallholder irrigation farming. Smallholder irrigation farming has become one of the main sources of rural livelihood in Zimbabwe given the deficiencies in rainfall triggered by climate change among other factors. The establishment of smallholder irrigation schemes, refurbishment of irrigation infrastructure, introduction of new technology and the subsidization of farm inputs are several initiatives taken by the government of Zimbabwe, Non-Governmental organisations and the private sector to improving agricultural productivity among smallholder irrigation schemes. Despite these efforts, smallholder irrigation farming has remained unsustainable. Resultantly, most rural communities in Zimbabwe continue to face hunger and poverty, two overarching sustainable development goals (SDGs 1 & 2) one and two. This study examined the negative externalities of social capital on efforts to improve productiv...
It assesses the efficiency of these frameworks and highlights how institutions affect the managem... more It assesses the efficiency of these frameworks and highlights how institutions affect the management of other natural resources/ecosystem goods and services. The study was carried out in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe; it was predominantly qualitative in nature and used multistage sampling techniques. The sample was the rural population of Matabeleland South Province, drawn from six of its case study wards. The districts, rural centres and key informants were purposively sampled on the basis of secondary data. The study findings showed that the institutional framework governing mining was sensitive only to formal mining operations but blind to rapidly-expanding informal artisanal and smallscale mining. Furthermore, formal institutions have become a major catalyst in converting common property into an open access regime that is susceptible to the Tragedy of the Commons. The study also showed that the reigning status quo had negative effects on other rangeland-inclined ecosystem services and compromised the ability to effectively manage them.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 2014
The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, povert... more The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining areas of Zimbabwe. Despite abundant mineral resources, the majority of Zimbabwean indigenous communities living close to the mines have limited access to directly or indirectly benefit from the mineral resources. Using a descriptive survey to collect data, this research article gives a strong proposition on how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act can be used as a vehicle of harnessing mineral resources. The article argues that pro poor mining policies that ensure the harnessing of mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development are paramount. The article further argues that the Indigenous and Economic Empowerment Act needs to be harmonised with other sector legislation in the country. The article concludes that the development of infrastructure and provision of public utilities ...
People in Zimbabwe have been faced with disasters in different forms and at various levels. When ... more People in Zimbabwe have been faced with disasters in different forms and at various levels. When people experience hazard events and disasters, they perceive these phenomena through lenses that are largely shaped by their local day-to-day experiences and some external influence. As they do this, they develop their own local conception of hazards and disasters, and they tend to model their response or preparedness through this. This article argues that on the basis of this premise, each society therefore develops its own unique and localised way of interpreting the disaster, which comes in the form of a ‘script’, that needs to be deciphered, read, analysed and understood within local priorities and knowledge systems. The hazard may be the same, say, fire, but as it occurs in different communities, they configure and read the fire script differently, hence spawning different response and prevention strategies. The way people anticipate, prepare for, and respond to a particular disaste...
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2014
The article primarily analyses the effectiveness of social and economic empowerment strategies ta... more The article primarily analyses the effectiveness of social and economic empowerment strategies targeted at the community of Gwanda Rural district. Despite abundant mineral resources, the indigenous communities living close to the mines have been deprived of the right to directly or indirectly benefit from the mineral resources. The study utilised a descriptive survey to collect data. The article gives a strong indication of how communities of Gwanda Rural district can utilise the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and the Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010 (Community Share Ownership Trust) to empower themselves. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and the Community Share Ownership Trusts as the major strategies currently adopted by the Government of Zimbabwe to empower local communities were evaluated. The findings of the study indicated that the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and Statutory Instrument for Community Share Ownership Trust were the pro poor mining policies that ensured the harnessing of mineral resources for the empowerment of local indigenous communities. It was also found out that the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act needed to be harmonised with the Rural District Councils' Act, the Mines and Minerals Act, and the Communal Areas Management Act. The article concluded that the development of infrastructure and provision of public utilities such as electricity, water, establishing micro-credit to small and medium enterprises and implementing broad-based indigenisation policies were some of the strategies of improving rural livelihoods and stimulating entrepreneurship in communities living close to mines. Similarly direct and indirect linkages between the mining sector and local economy could be enhanced through the provision of food supply to the mine, manufacture of mining inputs, provision of security services and supply of labour by the local community. The article recommends that the harmonisation of these acts will ensure that empowerment is integrated in all legislation focused on rural development and promote sustainable ways of utilising the Community Share Ownership Trusts.
This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rig... more This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rights-based perspective. In Zimbabwe, the disaster risk reduction framework and the ensuing practice have not yet accommodated some of the most vulnerable and excluded groups, especially the terminally ill, people with disabilities and the very poor. Top-down approaches to disaster management have largely been blamed for lack of resilience and poor preparedness on the part of sections of society that are hard hit by disasters. Often, disaster risk reduction has also been modeled along the needs and priorities of able-bodied people, whilst largely excluding those with various forms of impairments. Against this background, this paper is based on field research on people’s disaster risk experiences in four districts of Zimbabwe, with a special emphasis on the disaster risk reduction framework. It provides a critical analysis of the disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe, focusing on th...
Current Progress in Arts and Social Studies Research Vol. 3, 2024
has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indig... more has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indigenisation drive that has seen large-scale mines compelled by law to seed at least 10% of their mineral revenue to CSOTS. The authors recommend the harmonisation of legislation that affects harnessing of mineral resources by local communities will ensure community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining districts in southern Zimbabwe.
This thesis reiterates that mining communities in Zimbabwe experience ‘poverty in the midst of pl... more This thesis reiterates that mining communities in Zimbabwe experience ‘poverty in the midst of plenty’. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has been widely regarded as a pivotal off-farm strategy of enhancing rural households’ livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this was not the case with Umzingwane District of southern Matabeleland where institutional exclusion – access and rights to gold –emerged as a major problem faced by artisanal gold miners. This thesis set out to explain how artisanal gold miners (otsheketsha/amagweja) utilised their social networks, connections and groups to access gold in order to enhance rural livelihoods in southern Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. The thesis adopted a qualitative explanatory case study which focused on Umzingwane District of southern Matabeleland. Owing to the secretive nature of actors in the ASM sector, findings indicate that trust, stronger connections, loyalty and reciprocal relations emerged as the important social resource for practicing artisanal gold mining. The findings also suggest that resources-based networks (amakhiwa/amabhoziweli), networks of political influence (ezinkulu), tribal and ethnic networks, were utilised by artisanal miners as a window to access key resources, as well as security and protection to advance their mining activities. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a multiplicity of resources which are mobilised easily through the collective efforts and utilisation of social capital put the community based mining groups at a strategic position to deal with challenges such as elite capture of mineral resources, corruption and exploitation of artisanal gold miners as well as improve livelihoods and reduce poverty of local artisanal miners in Umzingwane District of southern Matabeleland. The study concludes that effectiveness of social contacts was seen through their ability to establish free flow of information that was harnessed by the artisanal gold miners for their new mining ventures. The thesis also concludes that resources-based networks, networks of political influence, tribal and ethnic networks, were a conduit that enabled miners to access and mobilise scarce resources for their mining activities. The thesis argues that social capital shapes how communities negotiate access and rights to the extraction of gold in order to improve rural household livelihoods in rural communities. The cohesive nature of artisanal gold mining communities and their ability to effectively harness social capital in their entrepreneurial mining ventures magnify and emphasize the relevance of community based mining groups in the Umzingwane ASM sector. This underlines a distinct theoretical perspective premised on the community based mining groups, as an elevated iii construct on community participation in artisanal gold mining to transcend the exploitation and the dominant status quo of the artisanal miners. The thesis suggests the need to strengthen policy formulation to address the challenges of exploitation of artisanal miners and in so doing also address the challenges of social injustice, inequality, unemployment and rural poverty.
Current Progress in Arts and Social Studies Research, 2024
has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indig... more has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indigenisation drive that has seen large-scale mines compelled by law to seed at least 10% of their mineral revenue to CSOTS. The authors recommend the harmonisation of legislation that affects harnessing of mineral resources by local communities will ensure community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining districts in southern Zimbabwe.
The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallh... more The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallholder irrigation farming. Smallholder irrigation farming has become one of the main sources of rural livelihood in Zimbabwe given the deficiencies in rainfall triggered by climate change among other factors. The establishment of smallholder irrigation schemes, refurbishment of irrigation infrastructure, introduction of new technology and the subsidization of farm inputs are several initiatives taken by the government of Zimbabwe, Non-Governmental organisations and the private sector to improving agricultural productivity among smallholder irrigation schemes. Despite these efforts, smallholder irrigation farming has remained unsustainable. Resultantly, most rural communities in Zimbabwe continue to face hunger and poverty, two overarching sustainable development goals (SDGs 1 & 2) one and two. This study examined the negative externalities of social capital on efforts to improve productivity and sustainability of Rozva smallholder irrigation scheme. The article argues that linking social capital, which includes partnerships between Rozva irrigation farmers and donor agencies, has created dependency syndrome that is inimical to the sustainability of the irrigation scheme. The article concludes some social connections detrimental to the sustainability of the scheme tend to create divisions among farmers. The article argues there is need for awareness on negative externalities of social capital and reduce these effects on the sustainability of the smallholder irrigation to realise social capital benefits among irrigation farming communities in Zimbabwe.
This article aims to show that competing demands on environmental resources have, more often than... more This article aims to show that competing demands on environmental resources have, more often than not, exacerbated vulnerability of poor rural agricultural communities. Artisanal and small-scale mining and irrigation-based farming are the main sources of rural livelihood used to cope with vulnerability in the drought-prone Mawabeni rural communities of Umzingwane District in Zimbabwe. Irrigation farming in Umzingwane District depends heavily on sustainable water supply and unpolluted land. Similarly, artisanal mining (ASM) depends on water for panning processes. Poor people's vulnerability often increases when irrigation development demand and artisanal mining operations compete for resources such as time, labour and water. The article explores the effects of ASM activities on sustainable agriculture productivity with specific focus on the irrigation scheme in Umzingwane District of Southern Matabeleland. A qualitative descriptive survey design and purposive sampling technique were used to select the study area, participants and to analyse data. The article concludes that ASM has caused a radical shift of able-bodied labour from irrigation farming to ASM thereby decreasing the productive capacity of the irrigation scheme. Notwithstanding the presence of locally-based extension officers from the Ministry of Lands, Mechanisation and Extension Services and traditional leaders who are instrumental in the provision of institutional support and guidance as well as access to external support and attracting social networks with farming inputs, the ASM activities have impacted negatively on farming in Umzingwane District.
This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rig... more This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rights-based perspective. In Zimbabwe, the disaster risk reduction framework and the ensuing practice have not yet accommodated some of the most vulnerable and excluded groups, especially the terminally ill, people with disabilities and the very poor. Top-down approaches to disaster management have largely been blamed for lack of resilience and poor preparedness on the part of sections of society that are hard hit by disasters. Often, disaster risk reduction has also been modeled along the needs and priorities of able-bodied people, whilst largely excluding those with various forms of impairments. Against this background, this paper is based on field research on people's disaster risk experiences in four districts of Zimbabwe, with a special emphasis on the disaster risk reduction framework. It provides a critical analysis of the disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe, focusing on the various forms of disadvantages to different categories of people that the current framework has tended to generate. The paper thus examines the current disaster risk reduction framework as largely informed by the Civil Protection Act and the Disaster Risk Management Policy Draft as revised in 2011. Crucial at this stage is the need to interrogate the disaster risk reduction framework, right from formulation processes with regard to participation and stakeholders, particularly the grassroots people who bear the greatest brunt of vulnerability, shocks, stresses and trends. In conclusion, the paper stresses the potential benefits of adopting an inclusive, rights-based thrust to disaster risk reduction in Zimbabwe.
This study analyses the institutional frameworks that govern access to mineral resources in Zimba... more This study analyses the institutional frameworks that govern access to mineral resources in Zimbabwe. It assesses the efficiency of these frameworks and highlights how institutions affect the management of other natural resources/ecosystem goods and services. The study was carried out in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe; it was predominantly qualitative in nature and used multistage sampling techniques. The sample was the rural population of Matabeleland South Province, drawn from six of its case study wards. The districts, rural centres and key informants were purposively sampled on the basis of secondary data. The study findings showed that the institutional framework governing mining was sensitive only to formal mining operations but blind to rapidly-expanding informal artisanal and small-scale mining. Furthermore, formal institutions have become a major catalyst in converting common property into an open access regime that is susceptible to the Tragedy of the Commons. The study also showed that the reigning status quo had negative effects on other rangeland-inclined ecosystem services and compromised the ability to effectively manage them.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences , 2014
The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, povert... more The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining areas of Zimbabwe. Despite abundant mineral resources, the majority of Zimbabwean indigenous communities living close to the mines have limited access to directly or indirectly benefit from the mineral resources. Using a descriptive survey to collect data, this research article gives a strong proposition on how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act can be used as a vehicle of harnessing mineral resources. The article argues that pro poor mining policies that ensure the harnessing of mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development are paramount. The article further argues that the Indigenous and Economic Empowerment Act needs to be harmonised with other sector legislation in the country. The article concludes that the development of infrastructure and provision of public utilities such as electricity, water, establishing micro-credit to small and medium enterprises and implementing broad-based indigenisation policies are some of the strategies of improving rural livelihoods. Similarly direct and indirect linkages between the mining sector and local economy could be enhanced through the provision of food supply to the mine, manufacture of mining inputs, provision of security services and supply of labour by the local community. The article recommends that the harmonisation of legislation that has an effect on harnessing of mineral resources by local communities will ensure community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development. Keywords: Harnessing; mineral resources; empowerment; indigenisation; community
A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for... more A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice
A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for... more A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice
A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for... more A rights-based analysis of disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe and its implications for policy and practice
International Journal of Social Science and Human Research, 2021
The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallh... more The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallholder irrigation farming. Smallholder irrigation farming has become one of the main sources of rural livelihood in Zimbabwe given the deficiencies in rainfall triggered by climate change among other factors. The establishment of smallholder irrigation schemes, refurbishment of irrigation infrastructure, introduction of new technology and the subsidization of farm inputs are several initiatives taken by the government of Zimbabwe, Non-Governmental organisations and the private sector to improving agricultural productivity among smallholder irrigation schemes. Despite these efforts, smallholder irrigation farming has remained unsustainable. Resultantly, most rural communities in Zimbabwe continue to face hunger and poverty, two overarching sustainable development goals (SDGs 1 & 2) one and two. This study examined the negative externalities of social capital on efforts to improve productiv...
It assesses the efficiency of these frameworks and highlights how institutions affect the managem... more It assesses the efficiency of these frameworks and highlights how institutions affect the management of other natural resources/ecosystem goods and services. The study was carried out in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe; it was predominantly qualitative in nature and used multistage sampling techniques. The sample was the rural population of Matabeleland South Province, drawn from six of its case study wards. The districts, rural centres and key informants were purposively sampled on the basis of secondary data. The study findings showed that the institutional framework governing mining was sensitive only to formal mining operations but blind to rapidly-expanding informal artisanal and smallscale mining. Furthermore, formal institutions have become a major catalyst in converting common property into an open access regime that is susceptible to the Tragedy of the Commons. The study also showed that the reigning status quo had negative effects on other rangeland-inclined ecosystem services and compromised the ability to effectively manage them.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 2014
The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, povert... more The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining areas of Zimbabwe. Despite abundant mineral resources, the majority of Zimbabwean indigenous communities living close to the mines have limited access to directly or indirectly benefit from the mineral resources. Using a descriptive survey to collect data, this research article gives a strong proposition on how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act can be used as a vehicle of harnessing mineral resources. The article argues that pro poor mining policies that ensure the harnessing of mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development are paramount. The article further argues that the Indigenous and Economic Empowerment Act needs to be harmonised with other sector legislation in the country. The article concludes that the development of infrastructure and provision of public utilities ...
People in Zimbabwe have been faced with disasters in different forms and at various levels. When ... more People in Zimbabwe have been faced with disasters in different forms and at various levels. When people experience hazard events and disasters, they perceive these phenomena through lenses that are largely shaped by their local day-to-day experiences and some external influence. As they do this, they develop their own local conception of hazards and disasters, and they tend to model their response or preparedness through this. This article argues that on the basis of this premise, each society therefore develops its own unique and localised way of interpreting the disaster, which comes in the form of a ‘script’, that needs to be deciphered, read, analysed and understood within local priorities and knowledge systems. The hazard may be the same, say, fire, but as it occurs in different communities, they configure and read the fire script differently, hence spawning different response and prevention strategies. The way people anticipate, prepare for, and respond to a particular disaste...
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2014
The article primarily analyses the effectiveness of social and economic empowerment strategies ta... more The article primarily analyses the effectiveness of social and economic empowerment strategies targeted at the community of Gwanda Rural district. Despite abundant mineral resources, the indigenous communities living close to the mines have been deprived of the right to directly or indirectly benefit from the mineral resources. The study utilised a descriptive survey to collect data. The article gives a strong indication of how communities of Gwanda Rural district can utilise the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and the Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010 (Community Share Ownership Trust) to empower themselves. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and the Community Share Ownership Trusts as the major strategies currently adopted by the Government of Zimbabwe to empower local communities were evaluated. The findings of the study indicated that the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and Statutory Instrument for Community Share Ownership Trust were the pro poor mining policies that ensured the harnessing of mineral resources for the empowerment of local indigenous communities. It was also found out that the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act needed to be harmonised with the Rural District Councils' Act, the Mines and Minerals Act, and the Communal Areas Management Act. The article concluded that the development of infrastructure and provision of public utilities such as electricity, water, establishing micro-credit to small and medium enterprises and implementing broad-based indigenisation policies were some of the strategies of improving rural livelihoods and stimulating entrepreneurship in communities living close to mines. Similarly direct and indirect linkages between the mining sector and local economy could be enhanced through the provision of food supply to the mine, manufacture of mining inputs, provision of security services and supply of labour by the local community. The article recommends that the harmonisation of these acts will ensure that empowerment is integrated in all legislation focused on rural development and promote sustainable ways of utilising the Community Share Ownership Trusts.
This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rig... more This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rights-based perspective. In Zimbabwe, the disaster risk reduction framework and the ensuing practice have not yet accommodated some of the most vulnerable and excluded groups, especially the terminally ill, people with disabilities and the very poor. Top-down approaches to disaster management have largely been blamed for lack of resilience and poor preparedness on the part of sections of society that are hard hit by disasters. Often, disaster risk reduction has also been modeled along the needs and priorities of able-bodied people, whilst largely excluding those with various forms of impairments. Against this background, this paper is based on field research on people’s disaster risk experiences in four districts of Zimbabwe, with a special emphasis on the disaster risk reduction framework. It provides a critical analysis of the disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe, focusing on th...
Current Progress in Arts and Social Studies Research Vol. 3, 2024
has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indig... more has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indigenisation drive that has seen large-scale mines compelled by law to seed at least 10% of their mineral revenue to CSOTS. The authors recommend the harmonisation of legislation that affects harnessing of mineral resources by local communities will ensure community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining districts in southern Zimbabwe.
This thesis reiterates that mining communities in Zimbabwe experience ‘poverty in the midst of pl... more This thesis reiterates that mining communities in Zimbabwe experience ‘poverty in the midst of plenty’. Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has been widely regarded as a pivotal off-farm strategy of enhancing rural households’ livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this was not the case with Umzingwane District of southern Matabeleland where institutional exclusion – access and rights to gold –emerged as a major problem faced by artisanal gold miners. This thesis set out to explain how artisanal gold miners (otsheketsha/amagweja) utilised their social networks, connections and groups to access gold in order to enhance rural livelihoods in southern Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. The thesis adopted a qualitative explanatory case study which focused on Umzingwane District of southern Matabeleland. Owing to the secretive nature of actors in the ASM sector, findings indicate that trust, stronger connections, loyalty and reciprocal relations emerged as the important social resource for practicing artisanal gold mining. The findings also suggest that resources-based networks (amakhiwa/amabhoziweli), networks of political influence (ezinkulu), tribal and ethnic networks, were utilised by artisanal miners as a window to access key resources, as well as security and protection to advance their mining activities. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a multiplicity of resources which are mobilised easily through the collective efforts and utilisation of social capital put the community based mining groups at a strategic position to deal with challenges such as elite capture of mineral resources, corruption and exploitation of artisanal gold miners as well as improve livelihoods and reduce poverty of local artisanal miners in Umzingwane District of southern Matabeleland. The study concludes that effectiveness of social contacts was seen through their ability to establish free flow of information that was harnessed by the artisanal gold miners for their new mining ventures. The thesis also concludes that resources-based networks, networks of political influence, tribal and ethnic networks, were a conduit that enabled miners to access and mobilise scarce resources for their mining activities. The thesis argues that social capital shapes how communities negotiate access and rights to the extraction of gold in order to improve rural household livelihoods in rural communities. The cohesive nature of artisanal gold mining communities and their ability to effectively harness social capital in their entrepreneurial mining ventures magnify and emphasize the relevance of community based mining groups in the Umzingwane ASM sector. This underlines a distinct theoretical perspective premised on the community based mining groups, as an elevated iii construct on community participation in artisanal gold mining to transcend the exploitation and the dominant status quo of the artisanal miners. The thesis suggests the need to strengthen policy formulation to address the challenges of exploitation of artisanal miners and in so doing also address the challenges of social injustice, inequality, unemployment and rural poverty.
Current Progress in Arts and Social Studies Research, 2024
has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indig... more has been a contested terrain. Of late in Zimbabwe, the government has embarked on a massive indigenisation drive that has seen large-scale mines compelled by law to seed at least 10% of their mineral revenue to CSOTS. The authors recommend the harmonisation of legislation that affects harnessing of mineral resources by local communities will ensure community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining districts in southern Zimbabwe.
The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallh... more The article examines the negative externalities of social capital in the sustainability of smallholder irrigation farming. Smallholder irrigation farming has become one of the main sources of rural livelihood in Zimbabwe given the deficiencies in rainfall triggered by climate change among other factors. The establishment of smallholder irrigation schemes, refurbishment of irrigation infrastructure, introduction of new technology and the subsidization of farm inputs are several initiatives taken by the government of Zimbabwe, Non-Governmental organisations and the private sector to improving agricultural productivity among smallholder irrigation schemes. Despite these efforts, smallholder irrigation farming has remained unsustainable. Resultantly, most rural communities in Zimbabwe continue to face hunger and poverty, two overarching sustainable development goals (SDGs 1 & 2) one and two. This study examined the negative externalities of social capital on efforts to improve productivity and sustainability of Rozva smallholder irrigation scheme. The article argues that linking social capital, which includes partnerships between Rozva irrigation farmers and donor agencies, has created dependency syndrome that is inimical to the sustainability of the irrigation scheme. The article concludes some social connections detrimental to the sustainability of the scheme tend to create divisions among farmers. The article argues there is need for awareness on negative externalities of social capital and reduce these effects on the sustainability of the smallholder irrigation to realise social capital benefits among irrigation farming communities in Zimbabwe.
This article aims to show that competing demands on environmental resources have, more often than... more This article aims to show that competing demands on environmental resources have, more often than not, exacerbated vulnerability of poor rural agricultural communities. Artisanal and small-scale mining and irrigation-based farming are the main sources of rural livelihood used to cope with vulnerability in the drought-prone Mawabeni rural communities of Umzingwane District in Zimbabwe. Irrigation farming in Umzingwane District depends heavily on sustainable water supply and unpolluted land. Similarly, artisanal mining (ASM) depends on water for panning processes. Poor people's vulnerability often increases when irrigation development demand and artisanal mining operations compete for resources such as time, labour and water. The article explores the effects of ASM activities on sustainable agriculture productivity with specific focus on the irrigation scheme in Umzingwane District of Southern Matabeleland. A qualitative descriptive survey design and purposive sampling technique were used to select the study area, participants and to analyse data. The article concludes that ASM has caused a radical shift of able-bodied labour from irrigation farming to ASM thereby decreasing the productive capacity of the irrigation scheme. Notwithstanding the presence of locally-based extension officers from the Ministry of Lands, Mechanisation and Extension Services and traditional leaders who are instrumental in the provision of institutional support and guidance as well as access to external support and attracting social networks with farming inputs, the ASM activities have impacted negatively on farming in Umzingwane District.
This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rig... more This paper examines closely the institutional arrangements for disaster risk reduction from a rights-based perspective. In Zimbabwe, the disaster risk reduction framework and the ensuing practice have not yet accommodated some of the most vulnerable and excluded groups, especially the terminally ill, people with disabilities and the very poor. Top-down approaches to disaster management have largely been blamed for lack of resilience and poor preparedness on the part of sections of society that are hard hit by disasters. Often, disaster risk reduction has also been modeled along the needs and priorities of able-bodied people, whilst largely excluding those with various forms of impairments. Against this background, this paper is based on field research on people's disaster risk experiences in four districts of Zimbabwe, with a special emphasis on the disaster risk reduction framework. It provides a critical analysis of the disaster risk reduction framework in Zimbabwe, focusing on the various forms of disadvantages to different categories of people that the current framework has tended to generate. The paper thus examines the current disaster risk reduction framework as largely informed by the Civil Protection Act and the Disaster Risk Management Policy Draft as revised in 2011. Crucial at this stage is the need to interrogate the disaster risk reduction framework, right from formulation processes with regard to participation and stakeholders, particularly the grassroots people who bear the greatest brunt of vulnerability, shocks, stresses and trends. In conclusion, the paper stresses the potential benefits of adopting an inclusive, rights-based thrust to disaster risk reduction in Zimbabwe.
This study analyses the institutional frameworks that govern access to mineral resources in Zimba... more This study analyses the institutional frameworks that govern access to mineral resources in Zimbabwe. It assesses the efficiency of these frameworks and highlights how institutions affect the management of other natural resources/ecosystem goods and services. The study was carried out in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe; it was predominantly qualitative in nature and used multistage sampling techniques. The sample was the rural population of Matabeleland South Province, drawn from six of its case study wards. The districts, rural centres and key informants were purposively sampled on the basis of secondary data. The study findings showed that the institutional framework governing mining was sensitive only to formal mining operations but blind to rapidly-expanding informal artisanal and small-scale mining. Furthermore, formal institutions have become a major catalyst in converting common property into an open access regime that is susceptible to the Tragedy of the Commons. The study also showed that the reigning status quo had negative effects on other rangeland-inclined ecosystem services and compromised the ability to effectively manage them.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences , 2014
The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, povert... more The article examines strategies of harnessing mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in mining areas of Zimbabwe. Despite abundant mineral resources, the majority of Zimbabwean indigenous communities living close to the mines have limited access to directly or indirectly benefit from the mineral resources. Using a descriptive survey to collect data, this research article gives a strong proposition on how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act can be used as a vehicle of harnessing mineral resources. The article argues that pro poor mining policies that ensure the harnessing of mineral resources for community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development are paramount. The article further argues that the Indigenous and Economic Empowerment Act needs to be harmonised with other sector legislation in the country. The article concludes that the development of infrastructure and provision of public utilities such as electricity, water, establishing micro-credit to small and medium enterprises and implementing broad-based indigenisation policies are some of the strategies of improving rural livelihoods. Similarly direct and indirect linkages between the mining sector and local economy could be enhanced through the provision of food supply to the mine, manufacture of mining inputs, provision of security services and supply of labour by the local community. The article recommends that the harmonisation of legislation that has an effect on harnessing of mineral resources by local communities will ensure community empowerment, poverty reduction and infrastructure development. Keywords: Harnessing; mineral resources; empowerment; indigenisation; community
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iii
construct on community participation in artisanal gold mining to transcend the exploitation and the dominant status quo of the artisanal miners. The thesis suggests the need to strengthen policy formulation to address the challenges of exploitation of artisanal miners and in so doing also address the challenges of social injustice, inequality, unemployment and rural poverty.
Keywords: Harnessing; mineral resources; empowerment; indigenisation; community
iii
construct on community participation in artisanal gold mining to transcend the exploitation and the dominant status quo of the artisanal miners. The thesis suggests the need to strengthen policy formulation to address the challenges of exploitation of artisanal miners and in so doing also address the challenges of social injustice, inequality, unemployment and rural poverty.
Keywords: Harnessing; mineral resources; empowerment; indigenisation; community