Brenna
Matendere
The
action
follows
a
recent
report
by NewsHub that
revealed
that
the
august
house
was
ignoring
the
petition
from
the
Centre
for
Natural
Resource
Governance
(CNRG)
that
was
presented
on
17
November
2023.
The
clerk
of
parliament,
Kennedy
Chokuda,
has
set
up
a
joint
committee
comprising
the
Mines
and
Mining
Development
and
Environment
and
Tourism
portfolios.
They
committee
held
its
first
meeting
on
27
May—more
than
six
after
the
petition
was
sent
to
parliament—and
is
carrying
out
investigations.
After
that,
it
will
table
its
findings
to
parliament.
On
15
May,
Chokuda
wrote
to
the
Mines
permanent
secretary,
Pfungwa
Kunaka,
asking
him
to
appear
before
the
joint
committee.
“The
above-named
joint
committees
are
currently
considering
a
petition
from
the
Centre
for
Natural
Resources
Governance
(CNRG)
regarding
alleged
unsustainable
mining
practices
in
Mutare.
“You
are,
therefore,
invited
to
a
meeting
on
Monday,
27
May
2024,
at
1020hrs,
in
the
National
Assembly
Chamber…The
purpose
of
the
meeting
is
for
you
to
update
the
joint
committees
on
the
policy
position
regarding
the
mining
practices
in
Mutare,”
read
the
letter.
Chokuda
also
revealed
in
the
letter
that
the
Ministry
of
Environment,
Climate
and
Wildlife
had
been
invited
to
the
meeting
to
come
and
respond
to
issues
raised
in
the
CNRG
petition.
On
20
May,
the
CNRG
director,
Farai
Maguwu, was
also
invited
to
appear
before
the
joint
committee.
In
the
petition,
CNRG
noted
that
Xu
Zhong
Jin
Investments
was
mining
along
Mutare
River,
thereby
causing
siltation
with
far
reaching
consequences
for
Odzi
and
Save
Rivers.
It
also
accused
another
Chinese
company,
Sino
Africa
Hui
Jin
Holdings,
of
acute
environmental
damage.
“Despite
the
existence
of
various
government
ministries
and
departments
with
the
administrative
authority
to
enforce
policies
to
regulate
the
safety
of
the
residents,
blasting
(by
Sino
Africa
Hui
Jin
Holdings)
takes
place
without
any
warning
and
at
one
time
a
house
was
destroyed
by
a
flying
rock.
“Hills
are
disappearing
and,
considering
the
ever-growing
threat
of
climate
change-related
disasters,
there
is
a
real
danger
of
flash
floods
which
may
claim
many
lives
and
destroy
property,”
reads
the
petition.
The
natural
resources
watchdog
added
that
the
Premier
Estate
community
had
“on
many
occasions
sent
delegations
to
the
Environmental
Management
Agency
offices
in
Mutare,
but
no
action
has
been
taken.”
The
CNRG
petition
called
on
parliament
to
ensure
citizens’
right
to
a
safe
environment
and
the
sustainable
exploitation
of
local
natural
resources
for
the
benefit
of
present
and
future
generations
as
provided
under
Section
73
of
the
constitution.
According
to
Section
119
of
the
constitution,
“all
institutions
and
agencies
of
the
State
and
government
at
every
level
are
accountable
to
Parliament”.
The
right
to
petition
parliament
is
guaranteed
in
Section
149
of
the
Constitution
which
states
that:
“Every
citizen
and
permanent
resident
of
Zimbabwe
has
a
right
to
petition
parliament
to
consider
any
matter
within
its
authority,
including
the
enactment,
amendment
or
repeal
of
legislation.”
Source:
6
months
on,
parliament
acts
on
Chinese
violations
petition
–
News
Hub
Zimbabwe