The Magunje
cement plant, operated by Labenmon Investment (Pvt) Ltd, has been a focal point
of conflict between the local community and the Chinese enterprise.
Villagers have
reportedly bemoaned the plant's closeness to a dam that serves as their primary
source of drinking water and that it will deprive them of grazing land.
The community
is calling for the plant to be relocated to an industrial area, away from their
vital water source.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on Friday last week visited the contentious Chinese-owned cement plant last week, where he met villagers and the Chinese investors.
Ziyambi's visit
came a few days after Presidential Affairs and Devolution secretary Tafadzwa
Muguti made an unannounced visit to the province amid reports that there maybe
a shift in government's stance on the issue.
President
Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly directed that the project be halted due to
environmental issues, as the site of the plant has dire health consequences for
the residents and the nearby army barracks at Magunje.
The Chinese are
accused of ignoring a High Court order stopping the operations while the
Environmental Management Agency (Ema) carries out investigations on the effects
of the plant.
Villagers have
also complained of arbitrary arrests and intimidation for resisting the
project.
The project has
divided the Zanu PF political leadership, with distinct sides fighting over the
issue, threatening the project.
Ziyambi
yesterday confirmed visiting the project site, saying he went to meet
villagers, Chinese investors and traditional leaders as a senior Zanu PF
official in the province and Cabinet minister.
“I mainly went
there to appreciate and be able to understand what the issues were. And that is
what other people did not want. I was there as a Zanu PF politburo and a senior
member of the party,” he said.
Ziyambi also
said he visited Magunje to appreciate the situation following concerns raised
over the project.
“So when I was
made aware of this issue, I said, I want to understand what the real issues
are. Let me go on the ground with the leadership in Mashonaland West,” he said.
“That is how I
got involved. And I invited everyone. I did not do it clandestinely. Those who
wanted to come came, and then others resisted. And when I went on the ground,
the picture that I got was different from what I was being told.”
Ziyambi said
there was a need for the stakeholders to reach an agreement over the issue.
“My position
was, if this project had been approved, there would have been work permits that
would have been procured. If it's an EIA [environmental impact assessment] in
order of compliance, you agree with them, comply with the requirements. That's
our law. I don't see what is problematic about that,” he said.
“You cannot say
you want to throw away something that can benefit you and the generations to
come and it will benefit Zimbabwe. My argument is, what is it that they are
saying they want?
“Are we saying
that in Zimbabwe, we are not going to have a cement factory? So what is it that
they want? To me, it is not personal. But to be very honest, who on earth would
say that we don't want a project of that magnitude?”
Zanu PF
Mashonaland West provincial chairperson Mary Mliswa also confirmed that Ziyambi
was on a factfinding mission in Magunje.
“What worries
me are people distorting information because from my point of view, what I
witnessed is people are happy in Magunje. Villagers know about this project or
investment and they are happy this is going to bring jobs and development in
the area and this is the first one of kind in Magunje. This is rural
industrialisation that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been preaching about
and this is part of 2030 vision.
“If there are
issues, they are being addressed and to be honest with you, out of almost 70
traditional leaders, who attended the fact-finding meeting, were happy, only
one had an issue and the company has promised to address the matter.”
Reports from
Magunje have, however, indicated that the construction of the cement plant does
not meet environmental standards.
A Magunje
villager, who spoke to NewsDay, said they were against the setting up of an
industrial area in the catchment area of Magunje Dam.
“We are against
the unprocedural setting up of an industrial area, in particular a cement
plant, in the catchment area of Magunje Dam, which supplies fresh water to 2.3
Barracks, Magunje growth point, nearby Magunje Irrigation Scheme, Magunje
Hospital, various schools and the surrounding areas,” he said.
“We have seen
the invasion of communal land in Magunje with minimal participatory
consultation with the communities of Magunje and Hurungwe, in general.” Newsday
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