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The Indigenisation Policy and Economic Emancipation in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the Zimunya-Marange Communities

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This study sought to evaluate the impact of the Indigenisation Policy on the socioeconomic emancipation of rural communities in Zimbabwe. A case study approach was taken focusing on the Marange and Zimunya communities in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe, where diamonds are being mined. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were applied to get a balanced view from these two communities on their socioeconomic improvement because of the mining of diamonds, which are a valuable natural resource found in these two communities. Purposive sampling was applied to come up with the sample of senior politicians and traditional leaders. Two Focus groups were formed in the two Business and Management Horizons ISSN 2326-0297 2018, Vol. 6, No. 2 13 communities. The study established that the five diamond mining companies doing business in the two communities had failed to honour their pledges of contributing USD10 million each towards the development of the two communities. Only USD400 000 was contributed by two mining companies at the time of the study. Ninety five percent (95%) of the respondents reported that there were no projects that were being implemented to benefit the local communities. It was therefore, concluded that there was limited socioeconomic empowerment of the Marange-Zimunya communities by the diamond mining companies. The study recommended the intervention by the Government in order for these mining companies to honour their pledges by coming up with empowerment projects and also by allowing the two communities to have shares in these companies so that they could be economically empowered.
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The Indigenisation Policy and Economic Emancipation
in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the Zimunya-Marange
Communities
Zvavahera Promise (Corresponding author)
Faculty of Commerce, Reformed Church University, Zimbabwe
E-mail: promisezvavahera59@gmail.com
Tel: 263-773-471-703/263-4-706-515
Chigora Farai
Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
E-mail: fchigora@yahoo.com
Roselyn Tandi
Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
E-mail: rtandi@cuz.ac.zw
Received: August 23, 2018 Accepted: September 28, 2018 Published: Nov. 22, 2018
doi:10.5296/bmh.v6i2.13954 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/bmh.v6i2.13954
Abstract
This study sought to evaluate the impact of the Indigenisation Policy on the socio-economic
emancipation of rural communities in Zimbabwe. A case study approach was taken focusing
on the Marange and Zimunya communities in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe, where
diamonds are being mined. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were
applied to get a balanced view from these two communities on their socio-economic
improvement because of the mining of diamonds, which are a valuable natural resource found
in these two communities. Purposive sampling was applied to come up with the sample of
senior politicians and traditional leaders. Two Focus groups were formed in the two
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communities. The study established that the five diamond mining companies doing business in
the two communities had failed to honour their pledges of contributing USD10 million each
towards the development of the two communities. Only USD400 000 was contributed by two
mining companies at the time of the study. Ninety five percent (95%) of the respondents
reported that there were no projects that were being implemented to benefit the local
communities. It was therefore, concluded that there was limited socio-economic empowerment
of the Marange-Zimunya communities by the diamond mining companies. The study
recommended the intervention by the Government in order for these mining companies to
honour their pledges by coming up with empowerment projects and also by allowing the two
communities to have shares in these companies so that they could be economically
empowered.
Keywords: indigenisation policy, communities, economic emancipation, foreign organisation
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1. Introduction
At independence in 1980, the Government of Zimbabwe inherited a dual economy that was
dominated by non-indigenously owned companies. A few whites owned most of the factors of
production and the blacks were regarded as cheap and semi-skilled labour in the white owned
enterprises (Matthew & Gidigbi, 2017). The challenge of the Government soon after
independence was to remove barriers and limitations for the indigenous Zimbabweans to enter
into the mainstream economy. This became the basis for the creation of the Community Share
Ownership Trusts (CSOTs), through the then Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment. This also witnessed the development and application of the Indigenisation and
Economic Act with the view of empowering and uplifting the less economically empowered
Zimbabweans. It is estimated that about 70% of the country’s population lives in the rural areas
and survive mainly on the exploitation of natural resources and subsistence farming
(Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, 2015). The Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act sought to include all indigenous Zimbabweans, especially the rural
communities into the mainstream economy through the provision of appropriate infrastructure
such as schools, roads, clinics, dams, rural electrification, irrigation schemes and equity
holding in businesses exploiting natural resources throughout the country. Zimbabwe is
endowed with vast minerals and other natural resources such as wildlife and forestry.
2. Literature Review
Economic emancipation is a deliberate effort by the government to economically, politically
and socially empower the less privileged so that they can participate in the mainstream
economy. For this to happen, good corporate governance and political stability are key. There
need is to develop and implement policies that support economic empowerment of groups
that where left out of the mainstream economy before 1980. Economic empowerment broadly
means the increase in the spirit, politics, social or economic strength of individuals and
communities. Economic empowerment can also refer to how money is earned and spent by
communities through various socio-economic initiatives (The Economist, 2007).
Governments have the responsibility to empower their own people so that they can become
self-reliant and contribute to the development of their economies. South Africa introduced the
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as a deliberate programme aiming at empowering
poor people who were disadvantaged before the country got its independence. The policy
included Indians, Blacks and Chinese who were in South Africa before 1994 (South Africa
Economy Watch, 2008). Economic marginalisation refers to the second economy where the
majority were blacks categorised before independence. Secondary economy means high
inequality in terms of distribution of wealth. It is evidenced by extreme poverty, diseases,
wars and social alienation and civil unrest (Philip, 2011). Phillip (2011) avers that the
inequalities in South Africa are based on the following:
Spatial inequality: the legacy of the 1913 Land Act, Bantustans and apartheid cities,
and the impacts of recent policies, looking at rural development, skewed agriculture
patterns, and the scope for payment for environmental services to create rural
employment;
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Inequality in the development of human capital: including education and health; and
The structure of the economy: its impacts on unemployment and local economic
development, including competition issues, small enterprise, the informal sector,
value chains and labour markets.
A lot of interest and debate has been raised concerning Africa’s position on strategies to be
implemented to emancipate her economy. The interest part is that some of the strategies
being implemented by Africa today have failed in some countries. These prescription policies
have spelt social and economic doom for the continent (Eshun, 2017). Most of these policy
approaches and prescriptions haver failed produce the desired socio-economic outcomes.
Mereko (2017) indicates that for economic emancipation to be successful there is there for
the Government of South Africa to support the Black Empowerment move. Evidence reveals
that Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa is being constrained by corruption, fraud,
mismanagement, poor accountability, lack of monitoring and evaluation, difficulties in
registering companies under BEE, lack of demand management and gross incompetence of
public officials across municipalities. These obstacles have hindered the capacity of BEE to
become an economic imperative aimed at redressing past imbalances (Shava, 2016).
According to Marazanye (2016), the molarity of the populace was empowered through land
redistribution. However the agriculture sector has been affected since most of the beneficiaries
do not have the skill or the desire to be farmers. Joseph (2017) believes that the Fast Land
Reform Programme further deteriorated the economy of the country.
The Zimbabwean economic empowerment policy in trying to address the political and
socio-economic imbalances created a size fit approach whci proved to be flawed. The policy
deterred investment and many white owned companies closed business (Magure, 2013).
Rural communities in Zimbabwe have the potential to change their own economic status, as
well as that of their families and their country if they are economically empowered. Work
done by most rural communities is undervalued to the extent that their wealth is not
accounted for in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Unequal opportunities and distribution
of wealth between the minority (Whites) and the (Blacks) majority hampered indigenous
blacks to uplift themselves from poverty and gain more options to improve their lives. These
serious imbalances have led to the slow economic growth for the majority of the people
(Golla, Malhotra, Nanda, & Mehra, 2011).
Zimbabwe has been faced with high levels of poverty and unemployment since the year 2000
when the country embarked on the Fast Land Reform Programme to economically empower
the black majority. On the other hand, the performance of the economy has been giving in since
the late 1980s due to inconsistences in polices implementation, increased government
expenditure, international relations and sanctions imposed on the country by the West
(Kanyenze & Kondo, 2011). The Economist (2007) estimated that unemployment rate in
Zimbabwe stood at 80% in 2007. This was attributed to the poor-performance by the
manufacturing industry and a host of other factors and failure to recognise the contribution by
the informal sector to the gross domestic product (GDP). Since the unemployment rate was no
longer unbearable, the Government then proposed the 2007 Empowerment Bill which was then
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passed into law in 2008 (The World Factbook, 2018). However, the introduction of this law
was met with mixed reactions as it was regarded as favouring certain sections of the
population.
The Indigenisation and Empowerment Act (Chapter 14:33) is now administered by the
Ministry of Women Affairs, Community Small and Medium Enterprise Development. The
Act deals with Foreign companies doing business in Zimbabwe with an asset value of or above
USD500 000 (Sections 3 and 4) tapping on natural resources. A business according to this Act
is any entity, which is set up for profit making purposes. Charitable organisations do not fall
under the Act. Any individuals who were economically disadvantaged before independence in
1980, are covered by the Act. The Act does not discriminate against race, colour or creed.
Blacks, Coloureds, Indians and Chinese are covered by the Act. According to the Act,
communities where these companies are operating from should get at least 10% of shares so
that they are economically empowered. It should be noted that the Act has a historical
background. The Government came up with a position at independence that foreign companies
operating in Zimbabwe through extracting natural resources should cede 51% of their shares to
the locals as a way of empowering them. This was supposed to apply to those companies,
which would venture into mining, agriculture and exploitation of other natural resources. The
Government shelved this idea for reasons not documented. What is interesting is for these
companies to cry foul yet the position of the new Government in 1980 made it clear. Since then
nothing was done by the Government to make sure that this post-independence policy was
implemented to benefit the majority of indigenous Zimbabweans (The Zimbabwe independent,
2014).
It has been noted with great concern that Sub-Saharan Africa is in abject poverty yet it boosts
of huge deposits of natural resources including minerals, much of it untapped. What is also
noted is that these communities also withstand the worst of environmental degradation without
any compensation (Mawowa, 2013). From the Zimbabwean perspective, the locals should own
51% shares, 10% should be ceded to the local communities through a Community Share
Ownership Trust (CSOT), and another 10% should be made available to the employees.
However, when the Government introduced this scheme, the world and the opposition parties
in Zimbabwe viewed it as a political gimmick, whereby they felt the ruling party, ZANU-PF
was vote buying. The ruling party has been accused of running down the economy by
proposing and implementing unfavorable policies to investors. Further to this, the Government
has also been accused of looting the diamonds in Chiyadzwa, and evidence is that the former
President admitted that 15 billion from diamond sales in Chiyadzwa disappeared. What is of
interest is that no one has been linked or arrested concerning the missing money (Mawowa,
2013).
Due to the poor performance of the economy, the former Minister of Finance had proposed that
Zimbabwe be regarded as a highly indebted poor country (HIPC) and the proposal was highly
rejected by other Senior Government Officials as they did not want to be exposed. The idea of
declaring the country highly indebted and poor was to facilitate the writing off the 6 billion
debt for the country (Debt Relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, 2015).
If this had been granted, Zimbabwe could have been getting financial assistance from the
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World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other financial institutions in order to
revive the economy. The IMF through the Reduction Poverty Programme helped other HIPC
Countries cancel their debts (World Bank, 2006). Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Mali and Uganda
among other countries benefited from this programme (International Monetary Fund, 2007).
In a study that was carried out by Makina (2009), it was noted that there is limited financial
support from the local financial markets and direct foreign investment. In this regard, the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was found to be contrary to the the spirit of
foreign investment. This was found to be leading to investment phobia which is not good for
an economy which is in a bleeding state. Instead of offering attractive incentives, the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was found to be offering disincentives to
foreign investors and financial firms. Munzara (2015) indicated that investors were not
comfortable with the current setup that was not in the spirit of good corporate governance, the
reason being that the government was putting up boards with high allowances and other
incentives. Further to that, Gono (2013) avers that foreign financial institutions were not
comfortable to invest in organisations they did not have control over since the government
and locals were the major shareholders.
2.1 Features of a Community
In terms of having targeted interventions a community is characterised by the following:
Is constituted by a group of people living in a particular local area;
Collective ownership of natural capital (natural resources); and
Have common objectives and goals to achieve.
The objectives of the Community Share Ownership Schemes/ Trusts are as follows:
To empower local communities through exploitation of their natural resources;
Participation of poor rural communities in the mainstream economy;
Total inclusion of rural communities in the mainstream economy; and
Have shares in companies operating in their communities (Mawowa, 2013).
The Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment established the CSOTs in
some Rural Districts in which natural resources are being exploited by companies referred to as
qualifying businesses. The Trusts are registered by the Deeds Office. The Board of Trustees is
composed of all Chiefs in the Rural District Council, the District Administrator, Rural District
Chief Executive Officer, the Chairperson, Head of Youth Affairs, the disabled and the
qualifying businesses. There is a strong feeling among Zimbabweans that CSOTs if well
implemented, have the ability of driving the Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic
Transformation (Zim Asset). This is a call for all stakeholders to make sure that concerted
efforts are made by all towards empowering the society (Zim Asset, 2013).
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3. Objectives
The specific objectives of the study were to:
1) Evaluate the impact of Community Share Ownership Schemes/ Trusts on economically
empowering the Zimunya-Marange communities.
2) Identify projects initiated by communities through the financial pledges made by the
companies operating in the Zimunya-Marange communities.
3) To identify the challenges in implementing the programme.
4) Recommend ways of overcoming the identified challenges.
4. Research Methodology
Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were applied in this research. In-depth
interviews and focus group discussion were used to solicit information from the respondents.
The approach was appropriate since the researcher was dealing with the respondents’ views
and experiences on the implementation of the Community Ownership Trust Schemes. The idea
behind using these two methodologies was also for triangulation purposes.
4.1 Population and Sample
All Traditional leaders, politicians, senior government officials, senior management of the five
companies and all residents of the Zimunya-Marange communities made the population of the
study. The population of the study was one thousand five hundred (1 500). Purpose sampling
was applied to come up with the sample. The reason for purposive sampling was for the
researchers to select participants they felt could provide valuable data. Two focus groups with
fifteen participants each, four traditional leaders, two politicians and four Senior Government
Officials made the sample. The sample of the study was therefore forty (40).
4.2 Interviews
Interviews were conducted with traditional leaders, two senior government officials from the
Department of Youth Affairs, two politicians from these two communities and ten senior
managers from the mining companies. The idea of carrying out in-depth interviews with these
participants was to get the real issues and understanding the challenges which were being
confronted by these two communities and the mining companies. The idea of using FDGs and
interviews was to validate data from other groups in order to make appropriate comprehensive
recommendations to the Government and other stakeholders. The same interview guide was
used for the key informants.
4.3 Findings
Documentary evidence showed that 58 CSOTs were registered in some Rural Districts with
companies exploiting natural resources in the respective communities. Trusts were officially
launched by the former President Robert Mugabe. A total amount of USD24 million was
pledged by the qualifying businesses as seed capital towards infrastructure development in
these rural communities. It was established that fourteen CSOTs were now operational and
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implementing various developmental projects such as the construction of roads, hospitals,
clinics and many others. Some of these Trusts had managed to provide goods and services to
their respective communities to the tune of USD 5.25 million.
It was noted from the interviews and focus groups discussions that not even a single project
had started off the ground in the Marange-Zimunya communities. This was due to the failure
by companies operating in the two communities to honour their financial pledges. Only two
companies (Anjin and DMC) had contributed USD200 000 each and the other three were yet to
honour their pledges. It was revealed that these companies were resisting the move as they felt
that the stake was too high.
All the traditional leaders in the area expressed concern over the lack of speed in the
implementation of the controversial Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust
in which diamond mining companies in Manicaland pledged to pour $10 million into the two
communities. At the time of the study communities were still waiting anxiously for the funds
to be released. In-depth interviews with traditional leaders revealed that two communities had
presented a number of developmental project proposals for funding under the Community
Share Ownership Trust but nothing was forth coming. Companies mining diamonds in
Marange-Zimunya were Jinan, Anjin Investment, Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds and
Marange at the time of the study. Some of these companies indicated that they did not pledge
to pay $10 million apiece. Table 1 shows that only two companies, DMC and Anjin had
managed to contribute USD200 000 each towards CSOTs. The other three companies had not
contributed even a cent towards the empowerment of the two communities.
4.4 Challenges
From the findings of this study, it was found that the country did not benefit from the
diamonds mined in Chiadzwa but were smuggled outside the country by the Chinese. It is
against this background that the two communities wanted to demonstrate against the mining
activities in which they were left poorer than before due to the environmental degradation
that had left most of the land unsuitable for agricultural purposes. The focus groups also
submitted that these organisations had failed to offer employment to the locals. The Bocha
Community Development Trust (BCDT) and Chiadzwa Community Development felt that
these companies had over changed them. In the process of mining, an estimated 100 000
hectares of land was said to have been destroyed by these companies.
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Table 1. Pledges and payments made by the companies operating in Marange-Zimunya
Communities as at June 2015
Province District
Trust Qualifying Business Pledge in
millions (000
000)
Release in
thousands
(000)
Projects &
allocation
Value
Status
Manicaland Mutare
Marange-Zimunya
CSOT
Mbada Diamonds
Anjin
DMC
Marange Resources
Jinan
10
10
10
10
10
Nil
200 000
200 000
Nil
Nil
Projects not yet
commenced.
Projects
identification in
progress.
Nil Nil
Source: Reports from the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment.
The government and traditional leaders indicated that the new invasions of the minefields by
illegal miners were affecting the smooth operations in the minefields. Since the local
communities were not benefiting from the mining activities, the Centre for Natural Resources
and Governance (CNRG) and Marange community members launched a petition to the
government requesting the mining companies to stop mining activities in the area until there
were guarantees that villagers would benefit from proceeds of the gems.
The proposal to set up a diamond beneficiation industry in the Province was said to be in
limbo due to lack of a legal framework to set up such an enterprise. The idea of setting up the
the enterprise was for value addition and beneficiation meant for exports. Another challenge
was that it was expensive to put-up infrastructure and equipment since the precious mineral
was said to be almost exhausted. The local leadership including traditional leaders indicated
that there was youths unrest in the province and they had threatened to to storm the offices of
the mining companies, the reason being that they had failed to uplift the youths’
socio-economic status.
Even though there were claims by traditional leaders that the Chinese companies mining
diamonds in the Marange fields of Manicaland province were looting the gems there was no
evidence to support the claims. Senior government officials indicated that the country had lost
an approximate of $13 million in diamond underhand dealings. One other sticky issue was
about the missing usd15 billion from diamonds sales. Traditional leaders and villagers
indicated that they had not benefited from the mining companies which had more than a decade
operating in the two communities.
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5. Discussion of the Findings
Even though there is evidence that some 58 CSOTs were established in some Rural Districts
with companies exploiting natural resources, not all of them had contributed towards the
empowerment of these communities. When these Trusts were officially launched by His
Excellency, President Robert Mugabe, dummy cheques were presented. Even though a total
amount of USD24 million was pledged by the qualifying businesses as seed capital towards
socio-economic infrastructure development in these two communities very little was paid
towards the CSOTs. However, it was relieving to note that some CSOTs in other areas had
already started yielding positive results as evidenced by the construction of roads, hospitals,
clinics and bridges. It was also noted that some of the trusts had managed to provide goods
and services to their respective communities to the tune of USD 5.25 million which was a
sign of development. This was found to be the opposite in the Marange-Zimunya
communities whereby no single project had taken off the ground. The communities were still
working on the project proposals and the funds contributed by the two companies were not
adequate. The fact that some of the companies were disputing the fact that they pledged
USD10 million apiece could mean that if they did it was under duress. This was supported by
the former Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment who indicated that
there were no written agreements between the Government and these companies to contribute
USD10 million apiece. He further revealed that it was the Ministry’s duty to implement
Government policy. It should also be noted that a pledge is not binding and the Government
cannot take the companies which fail to honour these pledges to the court of law. It is critical
for the Government to keep on engaging these organisations so that they can at least pay
something towards these communities. It could also be proper to request these companies to
pay the amount they can afford than sticking to the USD10 million which could be too high
considering the poor performance of the economy. If the Government continued to stick to
the USDD10 million per company, the profitability and viability of these companies could be
affected.
Even though no clear reasons were given by these companies for non-payment or late releases,
this could be that the companies were not making profits as speculated by the stakeholders. If
that is the case, it is prudent for the companies to declare their financial statements to the
Government so that they come up with a common understanding. Even though there were some
speculations that sales of diamonds were making a difference on the international markets, the
fortunes of the country were not changing for the better. Lessons learnt from this were that
policy consistencies were very critical in developing a nation. Had this policy been applied
from 1980, the country could have been economically better off by now.
If foreign companies are compelled to pay such huge amounts of money, this is likely to
discourage foreign direct investment which the country desperately needs to steer economic
growth. If this issue is not properly addressed, it likely to affect the growth of the economy as
many investors would shun Zimbabwe as a lucrative investment destination. Even though the
majority of participants felt that it was a positive development to transfer part of the equity to
serious local investors, this should be transparent and be done in an orderly manner. Table 1
shows that no meaningful contributions were made by the diamond companies in these
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communities. What is interesting is that it is always reported on news that Zimbabwe diamonds
are making a difference on the international market yet the communities in which these
diamonds are being mined are languishing in poverty. It is prudent for the Government to make
sure that these companies fulfil their social responsibilities. Organisations which are
environmentally friendly are likely to get new capital and repeated business deals. The fact that
senior government officials and traditional leaders were worried with the late releases could be
a sign that the programme was facing some resistance from the qualifying businesses. Failure
by companies operating in the two communities to honour their pledges according to the
traditional leaders was an issue of arrogance and non-compliance to Government directives.
The state of infrastructure in provincial capital of Mutare does not show any improvements.
6. Model of empowerment
In order to address the issues raised, the researchers propose the Model of Empowerment (see
Figure 1). If all the issues in model are addressed, communities in Zimbabwe may realise total
empowerment. The elements of the model are discussed in the following section.
Capital—these are start-up resources. Capital can be in any form. In the case of this
paper, natural resource, which are the diamonds are key to both the investors and
communities since they all benefit.
Land—this natural resource holds all other resources together. Sustainable utilisation
of this natural resource is critical. The idea is for future generations to benefit from the
same natural resources as well. Land degradation was raised as a major concern by the
two communities
Entrepreneurship—can be regarded as a process of identifying and grabbing a
business opportunity for future benefits. In the case of this study, the five companies
operating in these two communities seized the opportunity of mining diamonds,
which have a high market value.
Labour—labour drives the other factors of production. Employees are the ones who can
make or break an organisation. What is positive from this study is that a few youths in
these communities were employed to work in the mine-fields.
Community—these are the people who live in these communities and they are the
presumed owners of the natural resources, therefore the idea of coming up with
community ownership trusts and development projects and programmes.
Social responsibility—the idea of ploughing back to the communities in which they
are doing business. Creating jobs, building schools, hospitals, roads and social
amenities are critical in empowering the communities.
Total economic empowerment—this is when communities are economically
empowered. It is only possible when all the issues discussed above are sincerely
addressed.
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Figure 1. Empowerment model
Source: Field data.
7. Recommendations
The study recommended that organisations operating in the Marange-Zimunya communities
should honour their pledges so that they continue to have the support of the Government and
the communities in which they are operating. Giving back to the community is their social
obligation. Since these companies have failed to honour their pledges on time, the Government
should continue to engage these companies so that something positive comes out of it.
8. Conclusion
In conclusion, the idea of economically empowering marginalised communities is a noble one.
It is a sign of good corporate citizenship on the part of the Government and good corporate
governance on the part the mining companies. The Government must take upon itself to make
sure that the disadvantaged communities are empowered. It has been noted that most
companies in Zimbabwe which are exploiting natural resources are doing business at the
expense of local communities. Land degradation, water and air pollution are some of negative
externalities caused by these companies. CSOTs can be the best option to compensate rural
communities.
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Copyrights
Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to
the journal.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative
Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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The Indigenisation Policy and Economic Emancipation
in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the Zimunya-Marange
Communities
Zvavahera Promise (Corresponding author)
Faculty of Commerce, Reformed Church University, Zimbabwe
E-mail: promisezvavahera59@gmail.com
Tel: 263-773-471-703/263-4-706-515
Chigora Farai
Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
E-mail: fchigora@yahoo.com
Roselyn Tandi
Catholic University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
E-mail: rtandi@cuz.ac.zw
Received: August 23, 2018 Accepted: September 28, 2018 Published: Nov. 22, 2018
doi:10.5296/bmh.v6i2.13954 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/bmh.v6i2.13954
Abstract
This study sought to evaluate the impact of the Indigenisation Policy on the socio-economic
emancipation of rural communities in Zimbabwe. A case study approach was taken focusing
on the Marange and Zimunya communities in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe, where
diamonds are being mined. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were
applied to get a balanced view from these two communities on their socio-economic
improvement because of the mining of diamonds, which are a valuable natural resource found
in these two communities. Purposive sampling was applied to come up with the sample of
senior politicians and traditional leaders. Two Focus groups were formed in the two
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communities. The study established that the five diamond mining companies doing business in
the two communities had failed to honour their pledges of contributing USD10 million each
towards the development of the two communities. Only USD400 000 was contributed by two
mining companies at the time of the study. Ninety five percent (95%) of the respondents
reported that there were no projects that were being implemented to benefit the local
communities. It was therefore, concluded that there was limited socio-economic empowerment
of the Marange-Zimunya communities by the diamond mining companies. The study
recommended the intervention by the Government in order for these mining companies to
honour their pledges by coming up with empowerment projects and also by allowing the two
communities to have shares in these companies so that they could be economically
empowered.
Keywords: indigenisation policy, communities, economic emancipation, foreign organisation
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1. Introduction
At independence in 1980, the Government of Zimbabwe inherited a dual economy that was
dominated by non-indigenously owned companies. A few whites owned most of the factors of
production and the blacks were regarded as cheap and semi-skilled labour in the white owned
enterprises (Matthew & Gidigbi, 2017). The challenge of the Government soon after
independence was to remove barriers and limitations for the indigenous Zimbabweans to enter
into the mainstream economy. This became the basis for the creation of the Community Share
Ownership Trusts (CSOTs), through the then Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment. This also witnessed the development and application of the Indigenisation and
Economic Act with the view of empowering and uplifting the less economically empowered
Zimbabweans. It is estimated that about 70% of the country’s population lives in the rural areas
and survive mainly on the exploitation of natural resources and subsistence farming
(Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, 2015). The Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act sought to include all indigenous Zimbabweans, especially the rural
communities into the mainstream economy through the provision of appropriate infrastructure
such as schools, roads, clinics, dams, rural electrification, irrigation schemes and equity
holding in businesses exploiting natural resources throughout the country. Zimbabwe is
endowed with vast minerals and other natural resources such as wildlife and forestry.
2. Literature Review
Economic emancipation is a deliberate effort by the government to economically, politically
and socially empower the less privileged so that they can participate in the mainstream
economy. For this to happen, good corporate governance and political stability are key. There
need is to develop and implement policies that support economic empowerment of groups
that where left out of the mainstream economy before 1980. Economic empowerment broadly
means the increase in the spirit, politics, social or economic strength of individuals and
communities. Economic empowerment can also refer to how money is earned and spent by
communities through various socio-economic initiatives (The Economist, 2007).
Governments have the responsibility to empower their own people so that they can become
self-reliant and contribute to the development of their economies. South Africa introduced the
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as a deliberate programme aiming at empowering
poor people who were disadvantaged before the country got its independence. The policy
included Indians, Blacks and Chinese who were in South Africa before 1994 (South Africa
Economy Watch, 2008). Economic marginalisation refers to the second economy where the
majority were blacks categorised before independence. Secondary economy means high
inequality in terms of distribution of wealth. It is evidenced by extreme poverty, diseases,
wars and social alienation and civil unrest (Philip, 2011). Phillip (2011) avers that the
inequalities in South Africa are based on the following:
Spatial inequality: the legacy of the 1913 Land Act, Bantustans and apartheid cities,
and the impacts of recent policies, looking at rural development, skewed agriculture
patterns, and the scope for payment for environmental services to create rural
employment;
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Inequality in the development of human capital: including education and health; and
The structure of the economy: its impacts on unemployment and local economic
development, including competition issues, small enterprise, the informal sector,
value chains and labour markets.
A lot of interest and debate has been raised concerning Africa’s position on strategies to be
implemented to emancipate her economy. The interest part is that some of the strategies
being implemented by Africa today have failed in some countries. These prescription policies
have spelt social and economic doom for the continent (Eshun, 2017). Most of these policy
approaches and prescriptions haver failed produce the desired socio-economic outcomes.
Mereko (2017) indicates that for economic emancipation to be successful there is there for
the Government of South Africa to support the Black Empowerment move. Evidence reveals
that Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa is being constrained by corruption, fraud,
mismanagement, poor accountability, lack of monitoring and evaluation, difficulties in
registering companies under BEE, lack of demand management and gross incompetence of
public officials across municipalities. These obstacles have hindered the capacity of BEE to
become an economic imperative aimed at redressing past imbalances (Shava, 2016).
According to Marazanye (2016), the molarity of the populace was empowered through land
redistribution. However the agriculture sector has been affected since most of the beneficiaries
do not have the skill or the desire to be farmers. Joseph (2017) believes that the Fast Land
Reform Programme further deteriorated the economy of the country.
The Zimbabwean economic empowerment policy in trying to address the political and
socio-economic imbalances created a size fit approach whci proved to be flawed. The policy
deterred investment and many white owned companies closed business (Magure, 2013).
Rural communities in Zimbabwe have the potential to change their own economic status, as
well as that of their families and their country if they are economically empowered. Work
done by most rural communities is undervalued to the extent that their wealth is not
accounted for in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Unequal opportunities and distribution
of wealth between the minority (Whites) and the (Blacks) majority hampered indigenous
blacks to uplift themselves from poverty and gain more options to improve their lives. These
serious imbalances have led to the slow economic growth for the majority of the people
(Golla, Malhotra, Nanda, & Mehra, 2011).
Zimbabwe has been faced with high levels of poverty and unemployment since the year 2000
when the country embarked on the Fast Land Reform Programme to economically empower
the black majority. On the other hand, the performance of the economy has been giving in since
the late 1980s due to inconsistences in polices implementation, increased government
expenditure, international relations and sanctions imposed on the country by the West
(Kanyenze & Kondo, 2011). The Economist (2007) estimated that unemployment rate in
Zimbabwe stood at 80% in 2007. This was attributed to the poor-performance by the
manufacturing industry and a host of other factors and failure to recognise the contribution by
the informal sector to the gross domestic product (GDP). Since the unemployment rate was no
longer unbearable, the Government then proposed the 2007 Empowerment Bill which was then
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passed into law in 2008 (The World Factbook, 2018). However, the introduction of this law
was met with mixed reactions as it was regarded as favouring certain sections of the
population.
The Indigenisation and Empowerment Act (Chapter 14:33) is now administered by the
Ministry of Women Affairs, Community Small and Medium Enterprise Development. The
Act deals with Foreign companies doing business in Zimbabwe with an asset value of or above
USD500 000 (Sections 3 and 4) tapping on natural resources. A business according to this Act
is any entity, which is set up for profit making purposes. Charitable organisations do not fall
under the Act. Any individuals who were economically disadvantaged before independence in
1980, are covered by the Act. The Act does not discriminate against race, colour or creed.
Blacks, Coloureds, Indians and Chinese are covered by the Act. According to the Act,
communities where these companies are operating from should get at least 10% of shares so
that they are economically empowered. It should be noted that the Act has a historical
background. The Government came up with a position at independence that foreign companies
operating in Zimbabwe through extracting natural resources should cede 51% of their shares to
the locals as a way of empowering them. This was supposed to apply to those companies,
which would venture into mining, agriculture and exploitation of other natural resources. The
Government shelved this idea for reasons not documented. What is interesting is for these
companies to cry foul yet the position of the new Government in 1980 made it clear. Since then
nothing was done by the Government to make sure that this post-independence policy was
implemented to benefit the majority of indigenous Zimbabweans (The Zimbabwe independent,
2014).
It has been noted with great concern that Sub-Saharan Africa is in abject poverty yet it boosts
of huge deposits of natural resources including minerals, much of it untapped. What is also
noted is that these communities also withstand the worst of environmental degradation without
any compensation (Mawowa, 2013). From the Zimbabwean perspective, the locals should own
51% shares, 10% should be ceded to the local communities through a Community Share
Ownership Trust (CSOT), and another 10% should be made available to the employees.
However, when the Government introduced this scheme, the world and the opposition parties
in Zimbabwe viewed it as a political gimmick, whereby they felt the ruling party, ZANU-PF
was vote buying. The ruling party has been accused of running down the economy by
proposing and implementing unfavorable policies to investors. Further to this, the Government
has also been accused of looting the diamonds in Chiyadzwa, and evidence is that the former
President admitted that 15 billion from diamond sales in Chiyadzwa disappeared. What is of
interest is that no one has been linked or arrested concerning the missing money (Mawowa,
2013).
Due to the poor performance of the economy, the former Minister of Finance had proposed that
Zimbabwe be regarded as a highly indebted poor country (HIPC) and the proposal was highly
rejected by other Senior Government Officials as they did not want to be exposed. The idea of
declaring the country highly indebted and poor was to facilitate the writing off the 6 billion
debt for the country (Debt Relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, 2015).
If this had been granted, Zimbabwe could have been getting financial assistance from the
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World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other financial institutions in order to
revive the economy. The IMF through the Reduction Poverty Programme helped other HIPC
Countries cancel their debts (World Bank, 2006). Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Mali and Uganda
among other countries benefited from this programme (International Monetary Fund, 2007).
In a study that was carried out by Makina (2009), it was noted that there is limited financial
support from the local financial markets and direct foreign investment. In this regard, the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was found to be contrary to the the spirit of
foreign investment. This was found to be leading to investment phobia which is not good for
an economy which is in a bleeding state. Instead of offering attractive incentives, the
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was found to be offering disincentives to
foreign investors and financial firms. Munzara (2015) indicated that investors were not
comfortable with the current setup that was not in the spirit of good corporate governance, the
reason being that the government was putting up boards with high allowances and other
incentives. Further to that, Gono (2013) avers that foreign financial institutions were not
comfortable to invest in organisations they did not have control over since the government
and locals were the major shareholders.
2.1 Features of a Community
In terms of having targeted interventions a community is characterised by the following:
Is constituted by a group of people living in a particular local area;
Collective ownership of natural capital (natural resources); and
Have common objectives and goals to achieve.
The objectives of the Community Share Ownership Schemes/ Trusts are as follows:
To empower local communities through exploitation of their natural resources;
Participation of poor rural communities in the mainstream economy;
Total inclusion of rural communities in the mainstream economy; and
Have shares in companies operating in their communities (Mawowa, 2013).
The Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment established the CSOTs in
some Rural Districts in which natural resources are being exploited by companies referred to as
qualifying businesses. The Trusts are registered by the Deeds Office. The Board of Trustees is
composed of all Chiefs in the Rural District Council, the District Administrator, Rural District
Chief Executive Officer, the Chairperson, Head of Youth Affairs, the disabled and the
qualifying businesses. There is a strong feeling among Zimbabweans that CSOTs if well
implemented, have the ability of driving the Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic
Transformation (Zim Asset). This is a call for all stakeholders to make sure that concerted
efforts are made by all towards empowering the society (Zim Asset, 2013).
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3. Objectives
The specific objectives of the study were to:
1) Evaluate the impact of Community Share Ownership Schemes/ Trusts on economically
empowering the Zimunya-Marange communities.
2) Identify projects initiated by communities through the financial pledges made by the
companies operating in the Zimunya-Marange communities.
3) To identify the challenges in implementing the programme.
4) Recommend ways of overcoming the identified challenges.
4. Research Methodology
Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were applied in this research. In-depth
interviews and focus group discussion were used to solicit information from the respondents.
The approach was appropriate since the researcher was dealing with the respondents’ views
and experiences on the implementation of the Community Ownership Trust Schemes. The idea
behind using these two methodologies was also for triangulation purposes.
4.1 Population and Sample
All Traditional leaders, politicians, senior government officials, senior management of the five
companies and all residents of the Zimunya-Marange communities made the population of the
study. The population of the study was one thousand five hundred (1 500). Purpose sampling
was applied to come up with the sample. The reason for purposive sampling was for the
researchers to select participants they felt could provide valuable data. Two focus groups with
fifteen participants each, four traditional leaders, two politicians and four Senior Government
Officials made the sample. The sample of the study was therefore forty (40).
4.2 Interviews
Interviews were conducted with traditional leaders, two senior government officials from the
Department of Youth Affairs, two politicians from these two communities and ten senior
managers from the mining companies. The idea of carrying out in-depth interviews with these
participants was to get the real issues and understanding the challenges which were being
confronted by these two communities and the mining companies. The idea of using FDGs and
interviews was to validate data from other groups in order to make appropriate comprehensive
recommendations to the Government and other stakeholders. The same interview guide was
used for the key informants.
4.3 Findings
Documentary evidence showed that 58 CSOTs were registered in some Rural Districts with
companies exploiting natural resources in the respective communities. Trusts were officially
launched by the former President Robert Mugabe. A total amount of USD24 million was
pledged by the qualifying businesses as seed capital towards infrastructure development in
these rural communities. It was established that fourteen CSOTs were now operational and
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implementing various developmental projects such as the construction of roads, hospitals,
clinics and many others. Some of these Trusts had managed to provide goods and services to
their respective communities to the tune of USD 5.25 million.
It was noted from the interviews and focus groups discussions that not even a single project
had started off the ground in the Marange-Zimunya communities. This was due to the failure
by companies operating in the two communities to honour their financial pledges. Only two
companies (Anjin and DMC) had contributed USD200 000 each and the other three were yet to
honour their pledges. It was revealed that these companies were resisting the move as they felt
that the stake was too high.
All the traditional leaders in the area expressed concern over the lack of speed in the
implementation of the controversial Marange-Zimunya Community Share Ownership Trust
in which diamond mining companies in Manicaland pledged to pour $10 million into the two
communities. At the time of the study communities were still waiting anxiously for the funds
to be released. In-depth interviews with traditional leaders revealed that two communities had
presented a number of developmental project proposals for funding under the Community
Share Ownership Trust but nothing was forth coming. Companies mining diamonds in
Marange-Zimunya were Jinan, Anjin Investment, Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds and
Marange at the time of the study. Some of these companies indicated that they did not pledge
to pay $10 million apiece. Table 1 shows that only two companies, DMC and Anjin had
managed to contribute USD200 000 each towards CSOTs. The other three companies had not
contributed even a cent towards the empowerment of the two communities.
4.4 Challenges
From the findings of this study, it was found that the country did not benefit from the
diamonds mined in Chiadzwa but were smuggled outside the country by the Chinese. It is
against this background that the two communities wanted to demonstrate against the mining
activities in which they were left poorer than before due to the environmental degradation
that had left most of the land unsuitable for agricultural purposes. The focus groups also
submitted that these organisations had failed to offer employment to the locals. The Bocha
Community Development Trust (BCDT) and Chiadzwa Community Development felt that
these companies had over changed them. In the process of mining, an estimated 100 000
hectares of land was said to have been destroyed by these companies.
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Table 1. Pledges and payments made by the companies operating in Marange-Zimunya
Communities as at June 2015
Province District
Trust Qualifying Business Pledge in
millions (000
000)
Release in
thousands
(000)
Projects &
allocation
Value
Status
Manicaland Mutare
Marange-Zimunya
CSOT
Mbada Diamonds
Anjin
DMC
Marange Resources
Jinan
10
10
10
10
10
Nil
200 000
200 000
Nil
Nil
Projects not yet
commenced.
Projects
identification in
progress.
Nil Nil
Source: Reports from the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment.
The government and traditional leaders indicated that the new invasions of the minefields by
illegal miners were affecting the smooth operations in the minefields. Since the local
communities were not benefiting from the mining activities, the Centre for Natural Resources
and Governance (CNRG) and Marange community members launched a petition to the
government requesting the mining companies to stop mining activities in the area until there
were guarantees that villagers would benefit from proceeds of the gems.
The proposal to set up a diamond beneficiation industry in the Province was said to be in
limbo due to lack of a legal framework to set up such an enterprise. The idea of setting up the
the enterprise was for value addition and beneficiation meant for exports. Another challenge
was that it was expensive to put-up infrastructure and equipment since the precious mineral
was said to be almost exhausted. The local leadership including traditional leaders indicated
that there was youths unrest in the province and they had threatened to to storm the offices of
the mining companies, the reason being that they had failed to uplift the youths’
socio-economic status.
Even though there were claims by traditional leaders that the Chinese companies mining
diamonds in the Marange fields of Manicaland province were looting the gems there was no
evidence to support the claims. Senior government officials indicated that the country had lost
an approximate of $13 million in diamond underhand dealings. One other sticky issue was
about the missing usd15 billion from diamonds sales. Traditional leaders and villagers
indicated that they had not benefited from the mining companies which had more than a decade
operating in the two communities.
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5. Discussion of the Findings
Even though there is evidence that some 58 CSOTs were established in some Rural Districts
with companies exploiting natural resources, not all of them had contributed towards the
empowerment of these communities. When these Trusts were officially launched by His
Excellency, President Robert Mugabe, dummy cheques were presented. Even though a total
amount of USD24 million was pledged by the qualifying businesses as seed capital towards
socio-economic infrastructure development in these two communities very little was paid
towards the CSOTs. However, it was relieving to note that some CSOTs in other areas had
already started yielding positive results as evidenced by the construction of roads, hospitals,
clinics and bridges. It was also noted that some of the trusts had managed to provide goods
and services to their respective communities to the tune of USD 5.25 million which was a
sign of development. This was found to be the opposite in the Marange-Zimunya
communities whereby no single project had taken off the ground. The communities were still
working on the project proposals and the funds contributed by the two companies were not
adequate. The fact that some of the companies were disputing the fact that they pledged
USD10 million apiece could mean that if they did it was under duress. This was supported by
the former Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment who indicated that
there were no written agreements between the Government and these companies to contribute
USD10 million apiece. He further revealed that it was the Ministry’s duty to implement
Government policy. It should also be noted that a pledge is not binding and the Government
cannot take the companies which fail to honour these pledges to the court of law. It is critical
for the Government to keep on engaging these organisations so that they can at least pay
something towards these communities. It could also be proper to request these companies to
pay the amount they can afford than sticking to the USD10 million which could be too high
considering the poor performance of the economy. If the Government continued to stick to
the USDD10 million per company, the profitability and viability of these companies could be
affected.
Even though no clear reasons were given by these companies for non-payment or late releases,
this could be that the companies were not making profits as speculated by the stakeholders. If
that is the case, it is prudent for the companies to declare their financial statements to the
Government so that they come up with a common understanding. Even though there were some
speculations that sales of diamonds were making a difference on the international markets, the
fortunes of the country were not changing for the better. Lessons learnt from this were that
policy consistencies were very critical in developing a nation. Had this policy been applied
from 1980, the country could have been economically better off by now.
If foreign companies are compelled to pay such huge amounts of money, this is likely to
discourage foreign direct investment which the country desperately needs to steer economic
growth. If this issue is not properly addressed, it likely to affect the growth of the economy as
many investors would shun Zimbabwe as a lucrative investment destination. Even though the
majority of participants felt that it was a positive development to transfer part of the equity to
serious local investors, this should be transparent and be done in an orderly manner. Table 1
shows that no meaningful contributions were made by the diamond companies in these
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communities. What is interesting is that it is always reported on news that Zimbabwe diamonds
are making a difference on the international market yet the communities in which these
diamonds are being mined are languishing in poverty. It is prudent for the Government to make
sure that these companies fulfil their social responsibilities. Organisations which are
environmentally friendly are likely to get new capital and repeated business deals. The fact that
senior government officials and traditional leaders were worried with the late releases could be
a sign that the programme was facing some resistance from the qualifying businesses. Failure
by companies operating in the two communities to honour their pledges according to the
traditional leaders was an issue of arrogance and non-compliance to Government directives.
The state of infrastructure in provincial capital of Mutare does not show any improvements.
6. Model of empowerment
In order to address the issues raised, the researchers propose the Model of Empowerment (see
Figure 1). If all the issues in model are addressed, communities in Zimbabwe may realise total
empowerment. The elements of the model are discussed in the following section.
Capital—these are start-up resources. Capital can be in any form. In the case of this
paper, natural resource, which are the diamonds are key to both the investors and
communities since they all benefit.
Land—this natural resource holds all other resources together. Sustainable utilisation
of this natural resource is critical. The idea is for future generations to benefit from the
same natural resources as well. Land degradation was raised as a major concern by the
two communities
Entrepreneurship—can be regarded as a process of identifying and grabbing a
business opportunity for future benefits. In the case of this study, the five companies
operating in these two communities seized the opportunity of mining diamonds,
which have a high market value.
Labour—labour drives the other factors of production. Employees are the ones who can
make or break an organisation. What is positive from this study is that a few youths in
these communities were employed to work in the mine-fields.
Community—these are the people who live in these communities and they are the
presumed owners of the natural resources, therefore the idea of coming up with
community ownership trusts and development projects and programmes.
Social responsibility—the idea of ploughing back to the communities in which they
are doing business. Creating jobs, building schools, hospitals, roads and social
amenities are critical in empowering the communities.
Total economic empowerment—this is when communities are economically
empowered. It is only possible when all the issues discussed above are sincerely
addressed.
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Figure 1. Empowerment model
Source: Field data.
7. Recommendations
The study recommended that organisations operating in the Marange-Zimunya communities
should honour their pledges so that they continue to have the support of the Government and
the communities in which they are operating. Giving back to the community is their social
obligation. Since these companies have failed to honour their pledges on time, the Government
should continue to engage these companies so that something positive comes out of it.
8. Conclusion
In conclusion, the idea of economically empowering marginalised communities is a noble one.
It is a sign of good corporate citizenship on the part of the Government and good corporate
governance on the part the mining companies. The Government must take upon itself to make
sure that the disadvantaged communities are empowered. It has been noted that most
companies in Zimbabwe which are exploiting natural resources are doing business at the
expense of local communities. Land degradation, water and air pollution are some of negative
externalities caused by these companies. CSOTs can be the best option to compensate rural
communities.
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