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Freeman Razemba, Senior Reporter
The European Union (EU) has pledged to assist Zimbabwe in clearing outstanding 5 percent of landmines laid in the country during the 1970s by the former white minority government but still pose a significant threat to communities.
Approximately 18,3 square kilometres of land still need to be de-mined.
Zimbabwe is one of the few countries actively working towards meeting the 2025 landmine clearance deadline under the Ottawa Convention.
Yesterday, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri met European Union Ambassador Jobst von Kirchmann, to discuss ways of clearing the outstanding landmines.
The development comes after British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Pete Vowles on Wednesday announced an additional US$5,5 million funding for landmine clearance in Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces.
The funding supports the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and The HALO Trust in their ongoing efforts to clear landmines and educate communities about the dangers they pose.
In an interview after the meeting, Amb Kirchmann commended the Government for its efforts aimed at achieving a 95,5 percent of landmine clearance.
“Let’s not forget that landmines are a horrible weapon because they always hit the innocent, they hit children, people just walking; so it is something absolutely cruel as a weapon,” he said.
“I think the effort Zimbabwe has made in order to clear that area is remarkable and we have seen last year, when the Honourable Minister (Muchinguri-Kashiri) set a target for 2025 and we have commended that because we think a completion by 2025 would be a great achievement.
“Today (yesterday) we discussed what the EU could do in order to support it and what I take from this meeting is that we will work very closely together over the next couple of weeks to see exactly what kind of activity we potentially could support,” he said.
Minister of Defence Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri (left) welcomes the European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst Von Kirchmann, during a courtesy call in Harare yesterday.- Picture Memory Mangombe
Amb Kirchmann added that the EU is determined to partner Zimbabwe in many areas. The EU has previously supported Zimbabwe after the deadly Cyclone Idai in 2019 and the ongoing El Nino-induced drought, where it has mobilised 62 million euros for food relief.
On her part, Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said yesterday’s meeting “was very critical”.
“It was a first meeting after the conference which they assisted us to hold last year, addressing the issues on how best we can meet our target of 2025, which we had set as Zimbabwe to make sure that we clear the outstanding 5 percent landmines that our people in the border areas live with.
“And you know we have lost lives, we have also lost assets for these people, their livelihoods, as a result of the landmines that are still in existence.
“We wanted to give each other feedback on progress that we have made so far,” she said.
Zimbabwe remains short of US$17 million in the fight against landmines, following the British government’s intervention of US$5,5 million.
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said Government is committed to setting aside resources for the exercise through the national budget.
“We have been working on our own in the past, but we are saying that after this conference, there was a lot of commitment which was made and as promised now by His Excellency (the Ambassador), we hope that we will have another interaction so that we are able to share notes on how best, as he has indicated, they will try to bring other partners to come and pledge where possible.
“We are happy that this will strengthen our relationship since His Excellency (President Mnangagwa’s) policy is ‘let’s engage, continue engaging and re-engaging’, and we are seeing the results,” said Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri.
Senior Government officials and their counterparts from the EU attended the meeting.
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