Kamativi residents reach out to Government over water

KAMATIVI residents, mainly the old mine former workers have appealed for Government intervention to address perennial water challenges where they rely on untreated water from a nearby dam and disused mine tunnels for domestic use.

Kamativi Tin Mine closed down in 1994 when international prices of tin plummeted to unsustainable levels.

For three decades, Kamativi turned into a ghost town and residents resorted to vandalising infrastructure particularly electricity and water infrastructure leaving the area with no power and piped water.

Kamativi Mining Company is a Joint Venture Company which is operated and controlled by a Sichuan PD Technology Group which is a subsidiary of a Chinese Listed entity, Yahua Group. The local Joint Venture Partner is Kamativi Tin Mines Limited which is wholly owned and controlled by a private company, called Defold Mine (Private) Limited.

Kamativi Mining Company started operations in 2019 and it is focused on lithium exploration, mining and processing within Kamativi.

With the coming in of the new investor, scores of residents and former workers are not sure about their future in the mine houses they have occupied for decades.

The former workers had applied for ownership of the houses and said they are still waiting for ZMDC’s direction.

When a news crew visited the mine on Friday, residents were in a meeting organised by the Kamativi

Residents Association to discuss issues affecting them, among them water challenges, ownership of houses, rehabilitation of roads by the investor, and community projects the investor is doing.

So far, the investor has rehabilitated and tarred a number of roads within Kamativi and installed solar-powered boreholes at two schools.

The boreholes are however overwhelmed by the demand for water and people fetch raw water from the crocodile-infested DRC Dam and some disused mine tunnels, putting the community at a health risk.

“The Chinese installed solar-powered boreholes at some schools but they are overwhelmed. We have water challenges and our children are entering a mine tunnel to fetch water. We are also fetching from the dam which has crocodiles and we dig small wells to be safe,” said a resident, Ms Mavis Moyo.

Another resident Ms Debra Milanzi said water at the dam is unhealthy because of open defaecation.

“People defaecate in the bush near the dam and when it rains all the faeces are washed into the dam. We are likely to be affected by cholera as a result,” she said.

Residents have appealed to the Government to help address the water challenges and also help secure their future in terms of accommodation.

Mr Fanuel Milanzi, a former mine worker said there was an attempt to evict former workers some time back but they refused arguing that they had taken care of the houses during the period when Kamativi was a ghost town and cannot be removed now.

The Hwange Rural District Council took over the administration of the houses to prevent further damage and started collecting rentals from the occupants.

Mr Misheck Johannes Moyo said the issue of house ownership is pending.

“People are concerned about water which is a challenge here and ownership of the houses which they had occupied for decades and took care of.

People approached authorities seeking ownership and while no agreement was reached, we are hopeful the council and ruling Zanu-PF whom we channelled the concerns through took them to the highest offices,” said Mr Moyo.

He appealed to the new investors to invest in water and electricity for the community.

Mr Timothy Mvula who is the residents’ association chairperson said residents were engaging KMC on water and house ownership among other issues.