After
reading the article: Dying Rivers Dry up Livelihoods, published
by Irin News and which appeared on Zimbabwe Situation website on 26 April 2012,
I felt compelled, as a Zimbabwean, to attempt to proffer remedies, which I
believe can go a long way in ameliorating and perhaps reversing this sad
situation.
When
Zimbabwe started experiencing economic difficulties in the late 1990s,
communities responded in different ways. The survival strategies took many
across the borders to acquire wares which they brought back to sell. The
favorite destination was South Africa but others explored other countries such
as Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. The well-to-do even went as far
as Dubai, China, and Singapore. Though the wares were sold to urban dwellers
through flea markets or home delivery, some enterprising people soon discovered
that there was a captive market outside towns and cities. Many trekked to the
great dyke, where a phenomenon called “kukorokoza” or gold panning was taking
root.
Undeterred
by arrests and various operations carried out by the government and the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe to curtail their activities, gold panners became part and
parcel of society. Soon a renowned musician, the late Tongai “Dehwa” Moyo
acknowledged them in one of his hits. It would appear that “Makorokoza” are
here to stay. The concept of “kukorokoza” is also no longer confined to gold
panning but now refers to the life of many Zimbabweans who, on each and every
day, have to come up with a “plan” of seeing them through.
Come the
land reforms in early 2000, many people secured plots, specializing in tobacco
farming. However, it is known that many farmers had limited means to acquire
coal at the prevailing prices for curing their tobacco and they naturally
resorted to indiscriminate cutting down of trees. What is happening in Zimbabwe
is a classic case of the tragedy of commons. Because tobacco farmers are
interested in revenue, they embark on destruction of indigenous forests. The
top soil is washed away into rivers and rivers dry up disrupting agricultural
activities downstream, resulting in people deserting agriculture either to
become panners or engage in buying and selling of wares. The desertification
will fast catch up with the tobacco farmers who shall see their yields
declining because of reduced rainfall. An attempt to create dams will be futile
because the dams will be affected by siltation. When the alluvial gold deposits
are eventually exhausted, the panners will be left with only one economic
activity of buying and selling, but because the rural farmers who left
the land and urban dwellers are already into buying and selling, the buying and
selling industry will become saturated and will collapse or reward big players,
with the rest faced with starvation.
My
interventions will be premised on the realization that what we are staring as a
country is a national disaster which needs a multi-sectoral approach coupled
with vigorous planning and diligent implementation and evaluation.
The concept
of “kukorokoza” or infomalization of the economy should be addressed. The
coalition government should strive to capacitate industry and to do more in
resuscitating and revitalizing dying industries such that people are formally
employed. The benefits of formal employment to the economy cannot be
overemphasized. The retail and financial sectors will receive a boost. The fiscus
will also be boosted. The pension funds will provide the country with long-term
development resources for sustainable infrastructural development.
Entrepreneurship will be nurtured in a systematic manner.
A new mining
policy is urgently required, which policy should provide a framework of how the
activities of panners and small-scale miners can be regulated. Such policy will
on one hand make panning difficult for unlicensed miners while allowing those
licensed to take care of the environment. Government agencies such as
Environment Management Agency (EMA) would be roped in to assist in monitoring
the activities of miners. Funding of EMA activities in this regard will come
from the miners through a levy on their sales.
The tobacco
farmers have everything to lose due to their recklessness and self-centered
behavior. They should be sensitive and work harder to preserve and conserve the
environment. The Forestry Commission should be stricter, penalizing those
farmers found on the wrong side of the law. Tobacco farmers are not sacred. Yes
the country require the foreign exchange but at what cost? A reforestation levy
should be levied immediately on all tobacco farmers to assist other poor
farmers to establish plantations of eucalyptus trees. On the supply of coal the
Mines Ministry should be liberal in issuing coal mining licenses. The current
license requirements for mining coal are not helpful to up-coming miners. The
liberalization of coal mining will undoubtedly result in an increase in coal
production and will drive the coal prices down enabling tobacco farmers to
utilize the coal instead of chopping down a 100 year old Musasa
tree.
Communities
through community leaders should be more active in environment management.
Ultimately communities’ well being will be in jeopardy if the environment is no
longer sustaining their livelihoods. It should be a taboo to cut down
medicinal, fruit and old trees. Community leaders should be empowered to
penalize those who are in the habit of cutting down of trees.
The youths
should be taught continuously on the importance of the environment; the supreme
value of trees and the living nature of the soil. A program of celebrating
success stories regarding conservation should be initiated where awards are
bestowed to individuals, communities and organizations excelling in the field
of environment management.
The
ministries of environment, tourism, mines, agriculture as well as government
departments and NGOs working with and/or in communities in the area of environment
and wildlife management should redouble their efforts in protecting the
environment. An environment management policy should also guide and
capacitate role players to deal with environmental issues.
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Gold panners in Zimbabwe courtesy of Irin News |
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Rural dwellers in Africa rely exclusively on firewood for energy |
Religious
leaders are encouraged to take a leading role in protecting the environment by
urging their congregations to participate in tree planting among other
activities.
Last but not
least, every Zimbabwean is called upon to do more regarding the environment.
They should think twice when they are about to chop down a tree, dig up a river
bed, contaminate water with mercury, start a bush fire, use snares, for it is
within their own hands to make a difference. Let us remember the wise words of
Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world."
Robert Mudzvova is a social, political
and economic commentator based in South Africa and writes in his private
capacity. Feedback
to robmudzvova@gmail.com