Crushed Dreams: How Chinese Mining is Wrecking Zimbabwe's Mountains

This mountain you see used to be the same as the one in the background before it was destroyed. If this doesn't stop next generations will only see these mountains on pictures and videos 

The Hidden Cost of Granite Mining

Granite mining in Zimbabwe has been on the rise, and it’s often led by Chinese companies. While granite is a beautiful, strong material used in homes and buildings, the process of getting it comes with a heavy cost. The mountains that have stood tall for centuries are now being destroyed, leaving the environment scarred and communities suffering.

Mountains Don't Grow Back

Imagine a giant mountain that took millions of years to form. Now picture it being blasted apart for rocks. That’s what’s happening in Zimbabwe. These mining operations strip away layers of earth, making it hard for plants to grow back. Nature needs time to heal, and when mountains are destroyed, the landscape changes forever.

Pollution: A Silent Killer

It’s not just about the mountains. Mining brings tons of dust and chemicals that pollute the air and water. Have you ever thought about where your drinking water comes from? When nearby rivers are filled with mining waste, it puts everyone at risk. Families can get sick, and animals can’t survive in polluted streams. This should worry us all.

Lost Homes and Livelihoods

Many local villagers depend on the land for their living. When mining companies come in, they take over these lands and push people out. Imagine losing your home because someone else wants to dig for rocks. People are left with nowhere to go and no way to earn a living. The promise of jobs often doesn’t match reality; many workers face unsafe conditions and low pay.

Environmental Laws in the Shadows

Zimbabwe has laws meant to protect the environment. Unfortunately, these rules aren’t always enforced. Mining companies sometimes get away with cutting corners. It’s like having a safety net that has holes in it. Without strict enforcement, the land and its people continue to suffer.

The Fight for a Greener Future

Local communities are starting to stand up against these mining practices. They know that if they don't speak out, the mountains will vanish, and their families will face even harder lives. Activists are pushing for better regulations and more support for sustainable practices. People are realizing that granite isn't worth the sacrifice of their homes and health.

Conclusion: The Choice is Ours

As consumers, we have the power to make choices that protect our environment. When we think about the products we buy, we should consider where they come from and how they impact the world. If we choose to demand responsible mining, maybe we can save those beautiful mountains in Zimbabwe from destruction. It’s time to stand together for a cleaner, healthier planet.

Environmental Education Short Courses

Lets Protect the environment 

Global Waste Cleaning Network has some amazing Environmental Education Courses 

The courses include 

1: Understanding Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development!

The course introduces you to the basic foundations of Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), including their origins and the educational processes connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

2: Strategies to Advance Circular Economy

Circular Economy provides a regenerative framework to design a production and consumption system in which materials are used in cycles of closed loops. The course provides you with an overview of the concept of Circular Economy, its principles and introduces how the principles are being used to shift from a linear economy to a circular economy. 

3: Introduction to Environmental Literacy

This course will introduce you to the basics of Environmental Literacy, by providing you with an overview of the environmental literacy concept and its components. The course, divided into 6 Modules, will also present to you the bases of environmental literacy excellence and how you can create your own logic model for environmental literacy assessment.

These courses will help you as an environmental activist understand the fundamental principles of environmental literacy and equips you with enough knowledge to share during Environmental Awareness Campaigns 

To enrol visit http://www.gwcnweb.org/ and search the courses under the Education tab.

Happy learning!!

NYANGANI MOUNTAIN-THE BEAUTIFUL AND MYSTERIOUS PRIDE OF MANICALAND

 

Nyangani Mountain Eastern Highlands Zimbabwe

Nyangani Mountain is found in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe

It is the highest mountain in Zimbabwe standing at 2.592 meters (8.504 ft) and is in the Nyanga National Park North West of the Manicaland Provincial Capital and Eastern Border City of Mutare.

Africa's second longest waterfall Mutarazi Falls is in Nyangani Mountain.

Nyangani mountain is mostly covered by mist throughout the year and the vegetation is evergreen along the slopes of the mountain.

The mountains annual rainfall is  2200 mm during the warm and  rainy summers and it gets cold and dry winters from May -August.

Mysteries of Nyangani Mountain

A lot of mysteries have happened in Nyangani Mountain most of them involving the disappearence of tourists and locals leading to most historians and traditionalists  associating the disappearances with some mythical explanations of sacredness of the holy mountain .

The Traditional Chiefs of Nyanga mainly Chief Tangwena, Chief Saunyama and Chief Katerere have been asked to perform some traditional ancestor appeasing rituals in many cases where tourists who visit the mountains goes missing without trace.

In 1981 a former Zimbabwean top government official Tichaendepi Masaya lost his 2 little daughters in that mountain and they have not been found up to this day.

Another mysterious disapperance is of an 8 year old white tourist Robert Ackhurst who vanished in that mountain never to be seen again.

Zayd Dada a mountain hiker of Asian descent also mysteriously disappeared he proceeded with the hike when his wife and another couple gave up the hike halfway.

Mysterious disappearances in the mountain are real but there is a huge debate among people from different beliefs

Some traditionalists thinks that there is a vindictive spiritual presence on the mountain that makes those who mocks the ancestors or say or do certain things that angers them to disappear.

Some local people say that there is a "strange colourful snake" a smoldering clay pot with no fire burning around it that needs to be ignored when you see them as showing signs of shock or pointing at the mystery leads to your forever vanishing.

Other group believes that since Nyangani Mountain is home to a lot of leopards,venomous snakes and other dangerous wild animals those who disappeared could be victims of such.

Also there are a lot of slippery areas that could see tourists slipping into deep places after one single stepping mistake.

Rock boulders also fall from the mountain summit and roll down to the foot which may result in fatalities if they are to meet human beings or animals during the process.

A MEMORABLE EASTER FOR NAKIVALE CHILDREN

 

Elbag and the happy children celebrating Easter

The 2022 Easter holiday celebrations for children and adults living in the Nakivale Resettlement district have been made  memorable as the youth leadership in that area prepared food and entertainment for them

Elie Nuru Elbag a young and vibrant leader who runs the One Can Bakery made some delicious cookies for the kids.

Cookie parcels for each child

Easter is the time to share our love and compassion for each other as Jesus Christ did for the world when he gave up His life for the redemption of our sins.

Also read :Christmas Food Parcels For the less Privileged 

Writing on her Facebook Page Helen Stokes a key member and consultant of the Australia with Africa thanked  One Can Bakery for the amazing job they did for the little children. 

A free live concert was also organized and resident super star and reggae sensation Pat Sabag performed alongside El Consolato,Super and  Anderson.

A fired up Pat Sabag never disappointed as he gave us an electrifying performance 

To watch Pat Sabag's live performances please visit https://www.facebook.com/978072095591332/posts/5225489990849500/?app=fbl

or follow him on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9M_rnK6fDnc

Indeed it was an Easter to remember!!

HEAVY RAINS HITS KwaZULU NATAL-MORE EXPECTED TO HIT CAPE TOWN

A traffic round -about destroyed by heavy floods in KZN

Heavy rainfall has hit a South African province, KwaZulu Natal.

At least 459 people have been reported dead by the time of publishing.

A lot of infrastructure and properties have been damaged, Houses could be seen drowning like mother earth is swallowing them.

Containers of goods, trucks and cars are seen covered in water, Highways looking like straight rivers.

It's really an eyesore, The damage caused by this floods is so disturbing.

Among the prominent damaged buildings is a Blind People's home, A big number of blind people were left homeless after the shelter was damaged.

Roads got destroyed during the KZN storm

Authorities reported that they had opened community halls in their efforts to assist the affected residents with shelter.

Climate change has resulted in parts of Southern Africa being hit by cyclones that have seen Mozambique and parts of Zimbabwe hit by 2 cyclones in a short space of time.

Climate change activists are calling for people to take their advice seriously and reduce their carbon emissions.

Speaking to SABC News , Climate Change and Energy activist Thandile Chinyavanhu warned that authorities in Cape Town must be prepared for similar or worse storms in the near future.
 

NAKIVALE PERMACULTURE TRAINING PROGRAMME AT AN ADVANCED STAGE

 

Permaculture food production

Plans to equip a group of community leaders in the Nakivale Refugee Resettlement  area with Permaculture knowledge are at an advanced stage.

The training course is scheduled to commence on the 31st April to the 4th of May 2022 and will be attended by a number of young community leaders from the refugee community.

Permaculture courses are very essential for the Nakivale communities as they will gradually assist in food sustainability which is key to smooth running of schools that we recently wrote about in our previous articles.

Read:Refugees Cry For Humanitarian Help

Also read:War Could Not Stop His Dreams: The Story of Mugisha Namwanga

Lives of women, children and almost everyone in the camp has become so unbearable with the cost of living going up every day.

This comes as the UN is reported to have reduced the monthly ration for refugees to 13 000 Ugandan Shilling or US $3.50

Facilitated by trainers from Congo and the DRC , The training aims at empowering refugee communities with organic food production skills-reverting back to our African tradition of producing food without chemicals and fertilizers which are a health and environmental hazard.

Poteint Oliver Mayange, one of the members tasked with the planning of this training course said they were in need of the following

Theory /Class Training: We need A tent, Plastic Chairs,flip flops or board markers, note books and pens

Field Work (Practical part of the course): We need a piece of land, Hoes, Water Sprayers/Sprinklers, Jerry Cans, Ropes, Hammers and Nails.

Trainers will bring seeds whilst community members and trainees will have to provide organic manure in form of food waste like banana peels and leaves, egg shells, animal waste like cow dung, rabbit and goat droppings and so on.

The demonstration piece of land will be looked after by the trainees and will work as a prototype that will inspire fellow community members to start similar projects for self reliance and sustainable food production.

The project will result in a boost in food crop production and breeding of chicken, rabbits and goats in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement.

Advocate for Equality and Coordinator  for Australia with Africa who is helping with planning this permaculture training Australian based Human Rights Activist and Consultant Helen Stokes popularly known by the Nakivale Community as Sisii Helen told this publication that she managed to secure some resources needed to get the training started.

For the training course, more organizers are appealing for assistance in any form be it provision of the items listed above or financial assistance.

Helen Stokes can be contacted on the following contact details

Email:stokesh17@gmail.com

Phone:0477999500 (Australia)

A DISASTER IN WAITING FOR HARARE RESIDENTS

 

Homeless people exposed to environmental health hazards

By Environmental Correspondent

Harare-Zimbabwe

Poor waste management by the City of Harare has seen the Copacabana bus terminus looking like a newly established landfill.

All sorts of waste can be seen scattered all over the place with the few skip bins available reaching over their carrying capacity and over spilling.

"They don't collect waste here, We last saw them a long time ago, The bins are full and overflowing as you can see my brother". said one commuter who pleaded for anonymity.

The political showdown between the Zanu-PF-led national government and the opposition MDC-Alliance which controls Harare's local government business is being blamed for all this irresponsible behavior.

The two political rivals are focusing on exposing each other at the expense of ratepayers and creating a big health hazard in the process.

Mixed waste causing an offensive smell in Harare

Poor waste management in urban areas normally results in the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid.

One opposition politician, Jacob Ngarivhume who leads Transform Zimbabwe has been denied permission to do voluntary clean up work in the city's high-density suburbs including the highly populated Mbare.

Police cited covid 19 regulations in denying Ngarivhume a permit to clean the area which is so disturbing as we have seen certain people being allowed to gather thousands of people for no good reason than just being cheered up and praised.

Residents, commuters and environmental and human rights activists are appealing to the responsible authorities to put their political games on pause and focus on serious governance business if they need to be voted back into office in the upcoming local government by elections and the watershed 2023 Harmonised elections.

Opinion!! ABOUT OVER POPULATION,HUNGER AND POVERTY

 It's not Overpopulation it's greediness and inhumanity. 

People queuing for food distribution 

Contrary to the false idea that the world is overpopulated hence a shortage of resources leading to poverty I beg to differ and say it is not and will never be overpopulation. 

First lets look at the word "Overpopulation ".The word itself represents a misrepresentation in the sense that it is correct to judge in a negative way something that is "over" the normal limits but what we also consider is that the limits are not correct.Simply put "You cant have an "over" of something where the limits are not set or wrongly set.

In this case what is the maximum number of people that can be supported by this planet for us to come up with the word "Overpopulation "?

This planet and its human resources are already producing enough food to feed its 7.9 billion people. Maybe one day the Earth will be "Overpopulated "but at the moment it is not and all the talk about overpopulation is just a distraction from the real causes of war hunger,poverty and social inequalities the world face today.

I am surprised that millions of people in some parts of the world like Madagascar, Sudan, and Somalia still face starvation whilst tonnes and tonnes of food go to waste elsewhere in the world.

Food parcels being prepared for distribution 

According to United Nations statistics estimated by Worldmeter, the world's population is 7.9 billion in December 2021.

In 2019 the world produced 1 trillion pounds of food commodities including wheat, corn, rice, milk sugarcane, and others

 I haven't mentioned other types of food that mother nature provides naturally which are in most areas the major diet for people living in remote and deep rural areas where food production and other statistical data is rarely collected. 

This planet is not short of either land and food to support and feed its population or the resources and manpower to help distribute the available food equally, No!

We are also told that overpopulation is another cause of climate change which is also another distraction and diversion from the real culprits of the crisis.Population and emissions are not necessarily related.Data from IPCC shows that 10% of the Earth's richest people contributes 40% of  world emissions.

Data accessed from the World Population Clock: Worldometer also shows that in 2022 and 2023 the world  population will be 8.0 billion and expected to reach the 9 billion mark only in 2037 signifying a relative steadiness in population increase.

What we lack is the social responsibility and will to act humanly to ensure a concerted effort to reach out to those with no means of getting basic needs like food.

Overpopulation is not the cause of hunger...Capitalism, corruption, greed, inefficiency, and the reluctance from those in positions of responsibility to properly allocate resources is the major cause of hunger and poverty.

Depopulation will never solve the hunger and poverty problem as long as there is no social and more importantly political responsibility among those who are in authority to make it their obligation to see that everyone doesn't starve to death whilst tonnes of food lie idle in warehouses, barns, supermarkets, etc waiting for their expiry date.

I am not advocating for total handouts of food but I am dispelling the false narrative that has been peddled by certain groups of people that overpopulation is the cause of hunger in this world.

The world also has vast underutilized arable land that can be used to produce more food enough to feed those living in areas where food production is almost impossible due to different factors like droughts and other weather hazards.

Unfortunately, such land is in the hands of those who are greedy enough to keep it underutilized simply because to them it's a sign of wealth and power.

Similarly, the financial and natural resources needed to distribute and allocate food to the vulnerable population of this world is in the hands of those greedy individuals who don't even know how much wealth they possess not because of illiteracy but because they have just lost count of their wealth yet they still go around grabbing from, exploiting and displacing those who have nothing.

It's not overpopulation it's an unequal distribution of resources among people living in different parts of the world and under different socio economic circumstances. 

About Author

Takesure Matewa is an independent Climate Change,Environmental , Social Justice  and Community Development activist and he writes for Enviro-Agri News Africa  publication 

His interests includes participating in amplifying voices of the marginalized communities through paid or voluntary work,Coordinating Gender and Youth Development Programs, Environmental Protection Education  and Community development projects.

He has been associated with various non profit organizations in both voluntary and non voluntary positions including freelance research work,communications and social media marketing.

 He can be contacted through the following details 

Email:envirosocafrica@yahoo.com

            tkmatewa@yahoo.com 

Cell:+27 (0)62 675 2447