Illicit remittance of Social Welfare funds costing vulnerable communities in Gwanda
Illicit remittance of Social Welfare funds costing vulnerable communities in Gwanda
July 28, 2023
Chrispen Tabvura
Choice News Africa
Gwanda -Several orphans, vulnerable children with disability and their families living in Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe are living in abject poverty, while the Ministry of Social Welfare and the surrounding mines who are supposed to look after the communities through the community social fund are living large.
The orphans whose parents either died in the line of duty or diaspora xenophobia in search of greener pastures and also from the disability families are completely out of school, due to lack of fees, a responsibility of both the Social Welfare department of Matabeleland South province and mining projects.
Hats off for Pick Nkomwa, who defied all the disability odds to help vulnerable. Pic Choice News Africa
Many widows, persons with disabilities and pensioners are also living from hand to mouth, in the streets vending to put food on the table, and yet Social Welfare Ministry is receiving budgets, to fund those vulnerable communities, but to no avail.
“We are now overwhelmed with children with disability, whose parents left them with grandparents or strangers, as they jump borders to neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, to look for jobs.
Pick Nkomwa practically taking action in vulnerable communities of Gwanda. Pic Choice News Africa
Some of the children with disabilities that we are now helping with food, school fees and upkeep, have their parents passed on, living them in the care of their old aged parents.” Said Pick Nkomwa, founder of a disability organization looking after several orphans with disability.
Samkeliso Nare, who is an artisanal miner, plying his business in Gwanda recently told Choice News Africa that he is remitting his dues to the relevant department, and also helping the vulnerable with general upkeep.
“I am operating in the Gwanda area as an artisanal miner, but with the little that I get from my proceeds, I make sure that the young people I work with are fed and assisted,” Nare said.
Asked about young people and children of school-going age, who are involved in gold panning for survival, Nare confirmed seeing a number, and he also said several children from those areas have dropped from school and are doing that for a living, with their disadvantaged guardians.
Several children have dropped out of school before secondary education in search of basic means of earning a living.
According to a 2021 Oxfam report on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in South Africa the extraction of natural resources, in essence, translates into extraordinary profits. If they are well managed, these financial resources could fast-track the socio-economic development of these resource-rich countries.
However, most often than not, natural resources are found in countries that are characterised by a low human development index, a high-level of corruption, and weak legal frameworks as well as law enforcement, the report also states.
Consequently, the revenues generated from the extraction of these natural resources are only profitable to the mining companies to the exclusion of the indigenous people and local communities2. Most importantly, the exploitation of natural resources is intertwined with IFFs.
Some mines operating in Gwanda have the capacity to remit to the government and local authorities, and the remittance from the proceeds is enough to uplift the lives of the community, to eradicate poverty.
According to the government of Zimbabwe policy, all mines and projects operated within the communities, sign social contracts with local leadership, some of which help with social responsibilities like school fees and monthly incomes.
They have joined the gold-digging spree in the bushes of Gwanda, for survival, because social welfare has failed to deliver them from poverty.
Asked to comment on the social funding from the local mining enterprises in Gwanda, Provincial Secretary for Devolution in the government, Ms Lattiso Dlamini referred this Journalist to the Mining Provincial Management office, who maintained that social development fund was voluntary, not mandatory.
Gwanda Residence Association Chairperson Collet Moyo who had promised to take this Journalist for a tour, could not do that due to the current political climate but poured his heart out on what he termed unfair devolution practices.
“Resources from the mine and other business proceeds are illegally taken out of Gwanda, because most of the mines are owned by none residents, who will be extracting the benefits to their homes.
Gwanda children are all suffering because the business operators are not local and will never look at empowering our people, because they are in the Matabeleland capital to make money and go to develop their areas.
We have also done our investigations as Gwanda people, and found that a good number of these mines are politically connected and have the blessings of politicians to illegally extract our minerals and take them away.” Said Moyo.
He also added that even big supermarkets like TM and OK, are not employing locals, so that poverty can be reduced. He told Choice News Africa that 99% of workers in the mining companies surrounding Gwanda are actually not local hence the falling of standards.
In an interview with Matabeleland South Provincial Mining Director Khumbulani Mlangeni, it established that the mines are not forced to remit or pay to the government, other than paying their tax.
“There is no law that compels mining companies to pay anything to the people of Gwanda because it is voluntary. Social responsibility is voluntary and it is up to the mining companies to make arrangements on what they can donate to the social responsibility.
Some of the miners have employed locals, but it is not compulsory for them to pay anything beyond their licenses and taxes.” Said Mlangeni.
Matabeleland South Provincial Social Welfare Officer, Criswell Nyakudya said a total of 1 753 learners from Matabeleland South dropped out of secondary school during the second quarter of the year, because of teenage pregnancies, lack of interest in school, long distances to school, and financial challenges, among others.
The pregnancies are also attributed to the influx of illegal gold miners, popularly known as amakorokoza, who also sleep with young girls for cash.
The Social welfare in Gwanda has totally failed to basically cater for the aged, orphans and persons with disabilities, as per their mandate, thereby attracting the attention of the media to investigate the circumstances surrounding the cause of unavailability of the funds allocated by the government to this Ministry for those activities.
Mthwakazi Republic, a political outfit that advocates for devolution for the provinces of Matabeleland, accused the government of looting resources from Gwanda and the rest of the country and illicitly exporting them to friendly countries for their personal benefit, leaving the people to scavenge for a living.
“The so-called second republic is composed of looters, who steal the country’s minerals to China without remorse and shame. Millions of Matabeleland people are living in abject poverty because their minerals are being stolen and exported without their consent.
This government must be taken to account for their looting spree. The current Zimbabwe leadership is failing to practice real devolution, this has completely impoverished our province.
The same leadership owns mines and that is the reason why many people are poor in Matabeleland. They deliberately ignored the gold mafia name and shame documentary that implicated top government officials, and this is displaying the open arrogance and looting of resources,” said Youths President Chilumbo Mudenda.
Other countries like Botswana, South Africa and Zambia are looking after their vulnerable communities because it is taxpayer’s money.
“This story was produced by Chrispen Tabvura. It was written as part of Wealth of Nations, a media skills development programme run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. More information at www.wealth-of-nations.org. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.”
