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Leroy Dzenga
Senior Reporter
DEVELOPMENT, particularly investment in infrastructure, usually comes with social costs.
When blueprints are crafted, there is often an understating of how the development will bring with it a degree of discomfort — which is sometimes necessary.
Communities, which would have formed over time, crystallising their ways of life, are sometimes upset when capital emerges in a disruptive manner.
History is replete with stories of instances where new business concerns contradicted with objects of sentiment in a community, brooking disagreements.
In 1956, when the largest man-made dam in Africa — Kariba Dam — was built, locals felt aggrieved. About 57 000 Gwembe-Tonga people were moved from their abode along the Zambezi river, which was essentially the source of their livelihoods.
During construction, 34 000 people were displaced in Zambia while 24 000 were moved in Zimbabwe.
Had these people remained in place, adamant, the dam — which has become a vital cog of the two countries economies — would have perhaps suffered a stillbirth.
In post-independence Zimbabwe, there have been similar cases where communities have been involved in disputes with investment — especially in rural communities.
Given the influx of investors into Zimbabwe, since the birth of the Second Republic which is operating under the mantra Zimbabwe is open for business, the question of development and community harmony is under spotlight again. This has prompted the Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation (CCMT) and the Tugwi Mukosi Multidisciplinary Research Institute at the Midlands State University to collaborate on a book project on the subject.
Titled “Development-induced Displacements in Zimbabwe (Learning from Colonial and Post-Colonial Experiences)”, the book is a collaboration between academics, traditional leaders, researchers, civil society players and Government bureaucrats.
Edited by a senior civil servant and current director in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Ambassador Mary Mubi, the book is an experience-based text which seeks to provide solutions to potential development related challenges.
“The book provides a timely opportunity for stakeholders, including Government ministries, local authorities, development partners, researchers and civil society, to have a conversation about the social and economic impact of development-induced displacements in Zimbabwe and to reflect on the past and present experiences and analyse them.
“The detailed case studies in this book provide crucial evidence that will inform future practices,” Ambassador Mubi wrote in the book`s foreword.
The book speaks on the aspect of compensation in the event of a development project extending into farmlands or residential space occupied by families.
In one of the chapters, Steve Mberi, a research fellow at the Sam Moyo Institute for Agrarian Studies, speaks about the compensation element of development-induced displacements.
He opines that although in some instances communities have been compensated, there was a need to improve systems that determine the quantum of the pay-outs given to affected communities.
“There are some cases where communities affected by development programmes have been compensated. Nonetheless, the area of contention in most cases is the valuation of properties with no evidence of independent valuers being used by the state to assess the level of compensation,” Mberi writes.
He makes a case for the preservation of indigenous knowledge systems when these displacements occur.
For instance, the people of Marange have a spiritual connection with the land and when they are moved, there have to be considerations on whether they can access some spaces for their worship. Uprooting them without taking factors like religion into consideration broods resistance and can see communities refusing favourable material compensation packages.
One of the most topical areas in development is the presence of mineral deposits on agricultural land. In dealing with such, lawyer Thammary Brend Vhiriri, who has a chapter in the book, reminds us of the Kampala Convention that Zimbabwe is party to.
She says in accommodating new developments, the country should be alive to the pact which states that they have to “ . . . prevent or mitigate, prohibit and eliminate root causes of internal displacement as well as provide for durable solutions.”
Vhiriri says although Section 31 of the Mines and Mineral Act protects rural and farm land occupiers in that a prospective miner has to seek their consent before undertaking mining activities on land under 100 hectares, there has to be a specific law that speaks to development-induced displacements.
“It would be ideal as desired by the Kampala Convention that there be a stand-alone legislation to protect the rights of internally displaced people. A specific IDP law would, to a greater extent, provide a degree of legal certainty, hence making it easy for Government agencies to implement its provisions,” Vhiriri writes.
Under the current law, where there is a clash of use between mining and agriculture, the issue is settled at the discretion of the Mines and Mining Development Minister, with little room for arbitration afterwards.
In her writing, Vhiriri calls for a mechanism which allows the assessment of such issues on a case by case basis, where there is a clearer criterion than just ministerial discretion. Although it carries insights from technocrats from different fields, the book accommodates insights from traditional leaders who are the first line of governance in most of Zimbabwe’s productive communities.
Provincial Chiefs Council chairman and Mberengwa traditional leader, Chief Ngungumbane, has a chapter titled “Development-Induced Displacements in Zimbabwe: A Historical Overview and General Experiences of the Affected People”.
Chief Ngungumbane, whose area of jurisdiction was historically moved from Esigodini in Matabeleland South to Mberengwa in the Midlands, writes on the effects of displacement — both planned and involuntary.
“Marginalisation occurs when displaced persons lose economic power and experience a reduction in social status and confidence. Relative economic deprivation and marginalisation begins prior to physical displacement, such as when investments, infrastructure, and services in affected areas are discontinued in preparation of project commencement,” Chief Ngungumbane writes.
He lists social disarticulation, food insecurity, loss of access to common property and landlessness as other effects of displacements. Chief Ngungumbane urges authorities to ensure that when development projects are launched or established, it is made mandatory for the host communities to benefit.
“A major example of development-induced displacement occurred as a result of the establishment of transmission lines and electricity pylons from Kariba to different parts of the country.
“What is particularly disappointing is that the majority of the people have not benefitted from the electricity that passes through their homes,” writes Chief Ngungumbane.
The book carries recommendations which the compilers believe can smoothen processes as the country moves towards a development-centred Vision 2030, which imagines Zimbabwe as an upper middle-income economy.
Some of the recommendations include community consultations.
The book suggests that community consultations in development projects should not be done to tick boxes, but the people have to feel like they are part of the decision, that way there will be less resistance.
It calls on authorities to ensure that where compensation is agreed or promised, there is expeditious remittance of the funds.
Where there are relocations, authorities are urged to ensure there are basic amenities like schools and clinics so as to avoid diminishing quality of life for the movers, which may be a deterrent for other communities when such conversations emerge in future.
Under the Second Republic, there has been an improvement in the scholarship on matters of national importance. This will allow policy makers and key decision makers to be evidence-based in their reflections.
The book, with contributions from writers like Crispen Maseva, Joel Chaeruka, Christof Schmidt and Terrence Mashingaidze, is an opportunity for there to be a manual which guides the relationship between host communities and investors due to the nature of its suggestions, which essentially advocate for a ‘middle of the ground approach.’
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