Custodians of the sacred Nharira Hills Heritage Site are up
in arms with a Chinese-linked company Edsabri Investments, which has interest
in mining quarry in the area for cement production.
The hills are a sacred site for the Nyamweda clan and were
declared a national monument site in 2000 in terms of section 20(1) of the
National Museums and Monuments Act. The clan had free access to the hills to
practice traditional rites such as rain-making ceremonies.
When NewsDay arrived at the site yesterday, the company was
already removing its equipment as ordered by the National Museums and Monuments
of Zimbabwe with villagers witnessing and jeering Chinese nationals who were
supervising the movement.
Nharira Heritage Trust chairman Israel Pasipanodya
Kawanzaruwa said the Environmental Management Agency did not fully consult
other stakeholders before granting the Chinese approval to start operations after
conducting a Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) .
“We want to know the people who were consulted by EMA when
they were doing their EIA because we were never consulted. We, as villagers,
are demanding an urgent stop to the excavation, mining and desecration of the
Nharira Hills given its status as a traditional heritage site.
“They should find another place to do their mining out of
this area. This year, we failed to do the rain-making ceremony (mukwerera)
because of this dispute. The whole process needs to be revised right from the
start as everything is shady, due procedures must be followed with all
stakeholders involved. Nharira Hills Heritage Site is a protected site,”
Kawanzaruwa added.
Nharira Hills are located near Norton, about 20km west of
Harare, and comprises of five hillocks that are interconnected by underground
tunnels, spreading over Somerby, Kilworth, Saffron Walden and Stonehurst farms.
Kawanzaruwa added that operations of Chinese companies in
the surrounding hilllocks as there will be mining quarry would destroy cultural
and ancestral relics beneath the ground and were supposed to move further from
the hills as they are interconnected by underground tunnels.
National Museums and Monuments regional director Godhi
Bvocho was also at the site witnessing compliance by Edsabri Investments as
this was meant to preserve sacredness of graves, rock paintings and the ruins
at Nharira Hills.
“An instruction was given to Edsabri Investments to move
all the equipment and go outside Nharira Hills because it was illegal for them
to operate there. There was no authorisation from National Museums and
Monuments,” Bvocho said. Newsday
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