ZIMBABWE is endowed with an abundance of natural resources which, if used properly can help turn around the fortunes of the economy. However, there are allegations of rampant looting of these resources. Thomas Chidamba Some human rights activists have tried, albeit in vain, to challenge the government to arrest the corruption and looting of these resources. Some activists were arrested for speaking up against corruption and looting. NewsDay (ND) reporter Thomas Chidamba interviewed Centre for Natural Resources Governance (CNRG) director Farai Maguwu (FM) about these issues. ND: Tells us about CNRG? FM: CNRG was formed in August 2012 with the goal of defending the rights of communities endowed with natural resources and to ensure Zimbabweans derive maximum benefits from their natural resources. We are a team of 10, backed by a board of trustees who give us strategic direction. We believe that with the correct set of policies and political will, Zimbabwe’s natural resources can be an answer to the country’s economic misery. Our desire is to see an improvement in living standards due to accountable governance of natural resources. ND: As a human rights defender, how do you assess Zimbabwe? FM: At times, it has been very scary, especially between 2009 and 2012. The involvement of top government officials in resource looting means our work is usually frowned upon by those who should be allies. Most district administrators won’t let us hold workshops in their areas of jurisdiction, fearing we will inspire communities to resist looting. But we still hold them anyway. ND: Tell us about the incident that led to your arrest and subsequently spending 40 days in prison? FM: I returned to Zimbabwe in August 2007 after spending a year studying in Austria. Three months later, government launched Operation Hakudzokwi to drive out artisanal miners from Marange. It was extremely brutal. A friend in Harare wrote me an email early December 2007, asking for details on what was happening in Marange. That email marked a turning point in my life. In January 2009, we produced a preliminary report which was widely circulated in diplomatic and human rights circles. The more we researched the more we were shocked with the severity of the abuses. News of our work reached the Kimberley Process (KP) which dispatched a fact-finding mission in June 2010. The chair of the mission invited me to attend a KP plenary session in Namibia in November 2010. I narrated the situation in Marange as I knew it and Zimbabwe was suspended from selling diamonds. A joint workplan was agreed between Zimbabwe and the KP, to be implemented within one year. The founding KP chair, Abbey Chikane was appointed monitor for Zimbabwe. When I met him I told him the truth and later he claimed in his report that I gave him classified information. He, therefore, reported me to authorities leading to my arrest. He probably thought I was going to disappear and his name would never be mentioned. But things turned out differently. ND: The prison term didn’t break your spirit, what is
