adminPamela Shumba Senior Reporter
A SOUTH African researcher has hailed the country’s indigenisation drive, saying economic policies should be favourable to locals, not foreign investors who exploit resources and give nothing to communities.
David van Wyk, a researcher with the Benchmarks Foundation in South Africa said Zimbabwe was ahead of most countries in Southern Africa in terms of indigenisation.
Benchmarks Foundation is an organisation that monitors mining companies operating in Southern Africa to see if they operate in an ethical manner.
“Zimbabwe has made great strides in trying to empower its people in promoting indigenisation. This is a very important factor in the advancement of communities. I’m surprised that the media is making a lot of noise about the 51 percent indigenisation policy, which I think is a good thing,” said van Wyk in an interview during a Community Share Ownership Trust (CSOT) consultative workshop in Bulawayo yesterday.
“Botswana has also introduced an indigenisation policy and that is a commendable step. Southern African countries must not make themselves cheap by bowing down to what foreign investors want. They must not make themselves cheap just to accommodate investors at their expense,” he said.
The researcher said he was also impressed by the CSOTs introduced in the country, saying it was important for mining companies to be regulated if communities are to benefit from them at all.
“Such initiatives ensure total control and responsibility on the part of mining companies. In other countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, there’s massive pollution and infrastructure has collapsed due to exploitation by mining companies. The companies don’t feel obliged to maintain infrastructure and preserve the environment. They think their prime responsibility is mining. There is nobody to take responsibility for the damage caused to the environment and the people in those communities,” said van Wyk.
He added that in South Africa, about 6,000 mines had been abandoned by owners who did not want to shut down procedurally.
“Globally, resources are getting depleted because it’s a free for all. In South Africa mining companies run away from closing properly and so far about 6,000 mines were abandoned, which is a serious risk to people’s health. It’s a tragedy that should not be allowed to continue. Acid water full of uranium is left to flow into rivers and the dust at these mines contains uranium that causes cancer. Communities then have to pay with their lives,” said van Wyk.
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