The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) has called for the establishment of a compensation and relocation law to ensure equitable relocation and compensation for communities impacted by mining activities.
In an interview, ZELA Investments fellow, Mr Obert Bore said the law would ensure there is uniform compensation and relocation of communities when affected by mining operations.
“As Zimbabwe, we need to develop a framework that will guide relocation and compensation for development-induced developments.
“Once we have a framework that is binding and recognised we will not have a situation where in one instance or area you have people relocated and not being fairly compensated for their properties that they have on the land, be it the houses or any other asset,” he said.
“As there is no framework what company A does is different from what is done by company B and also different from what will be done by company C in terms of relocating and compensating communities. If there was a framework the process would be uniform and people would all get fair compensation.”
He said as ZELA they have developed a model law that speaks to the best practice of what things should look like in terms of the compensation and relocation law.
Mr Bore said if adopted by policymakers in its entirety or some of the suggestions, it will go a long way to address the variations in relocation and compensation of communities.
“Our model has been shared with some of the Government institutions that we work with such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) as their mandate is to promote, protect and enforce human rights and fundamental or basic freedoms.
“We also plan to disseminate the model by engaging with other policymakers such as the Parliament of Zimbabwe. We have not widely disseminated it but we are starting to have the conversations,” he said.
He said Zimbabwe as a country was trying to promote the mining sector because of its contribution to economic development as well as opening up vast opportunities for investors.
Commenting on the framework, Young Miners Foundation (YMF) founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Payne Kupfuwa said affected communities should be adequately compensated and provided with essential services and support.
He said: “The framework is a critical component that is required as it will also ensure human rights are protected and respected.
“The law will provide a free and fair engagement platform to ensure all communities benefit around the country regardless of their geographical location.”
